Buoy Health launches tool to gauge employee vaccine concerns

Buoy Health launched a new tool that utilizes artificial intelligence and behavioral science to keep employers informed of vaccination rates among their workforce.

This vaccine launch is an expansion of Buoy’s Back with Care platform, which provides employers with daily screening and workplace return guidance. The expanded offering will provide employers with a dashboard used to measure employee interest and hesitancy over vaccinations. These insights will help employers design and execute a communication strategy around their reopening plans.

Read more: How AI can address employees’ fears of coronavirus

“During the pandemic, employers have become de facto public health leaders, with the majority of COVID-19 education, strategy and response efforts falling on the shoulders of HR and benefits teams,” Dr. Andrew Le, CEO of Buoy Health, said in a release. “The vaccine is the most viable path to ‘returning to normal’ based on the available science.”

Currently, less than 8% of the American population has been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent poll by Kaiser Health News found that 41% of unvaccinated people plan to get the shot as soon as it is available. However, just half of employees believe their employer should require a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Eagle Hill Consulting.

Read more: How to get employees vaccinated and back to work

The majority of employers are cautious about mandating vaccines because of the political issues surrounding them, says Robin Samuel, a partner at Baker & McKenzie law firm.

“People have very strong beliefs about vaccinations and COVID-19 in general,” he says. “Most of our clients are taking a wait and see approach. Nobody wants to be the leader in deciding on if they’ll make it mandatory.”

While employers are able to enforce vaccine mandates, encouraging employees to get the vaccine may be a more successful tactic, Samuels says. Twenty-four percent of employees said they would resist getting vaccinated if their employer mandated it, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

“Businesses are realizing that it doesn't really matter where employees are, so most companies will make it voluntary and add additional protective measures when they’re working [in the office],” Samuels says.

To help navigate these complex opinions, the Buoy platform uses behavioral science-backed questions to screen employees about their willingness to get vaccinated. The platform will also provide daily screening tools like symptom checks to ensure maximum safety for employees returning to work.

Utilizing digital health tools is a way for employers to navigate the myriad of concerns they're facing as COVID-19 persists, Le says.

“Digital health can be a home base for an employer to take multiple strategies and layer them at the same time, because 100% of your population needs help every single day to figure out how to work safely,” he says. “Digital health can be a great way to manage your resources, by acting as a resource manager on behalf of the employer.”