Vaccine misinformation is a hurdle for employers

Now that the vaccine rollout has begun, employees are faced with even more unknowns and a plethora of inaccurate information about the vaccine.

Since December, 21.7% of Americans have been inoculated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Biden has directed states to make vaccines accessible to everyone beginning May 1, speeding up a return-to-normal.

Read more: These companies are paying their employees to get vaccinated

However, nearly one in three Americans still have no plans to get the vaccine, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Employers can play an important role in providing accurate and educational information about vaccines and advocate for their employees’ health.

“Employers recognize that they are among the most trusted sources of information for the general public around coronavirus and vaccines in particular,” says Dr. Dena Bravata, chief medical officer at Castlight Health, a healthcare solutions provider. “Many employers have a history of providing influenza vaccines on site. Now they are thinking about how [they can] do something similar for COVID vaccinations, whether by bringing it on site, or using the same mechanisms to help educate their population around the importance of safety and efficacy.”

Dr. Bravata shared her thoughts on how employers can encourage employees to get vaccinated and what their responsibilities are toward workers as it relates to the pandemic.

What role do employers need to take in the vaccine roll out?
Communication is, without question, one of the key roles that employers are playing. A number of employers have worked with partners like Quest, that might come in and help administer a vaccine. The employer is really playing a direct role in increasing access to their population.

We're not seeing mandates for vaccines, though there's certainly been a fair bit of conversation around it. Instead, what we're seeing is that employers are providing incentives to their workforce to get the vaccine, like . time off. We've seen [employers offer] points that might translate into gift cards or wellness programs, and even contributions to HRAs or HSAs.

How can employers combat all the false information about vaccines?
Company leaders are really trying to inform themselves with the best evidence. What I've seen a number of companies do is ally themselves with a local academic institution. A CEO or the head of HR may do a fireside chat with the head of infectious diseases at the local university and then make that conversation available to employees.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has been doing a regular monthly survey of the national sentiment around vaccines. They have been trying to understand what information people are using to make decisions about whether they should get a vaccine or shouldn't and how much misinformation is really guiding their decision making. A lot of employers are looking for that validated information to really combat some of the myths head on and focus on the best scientific evidence for informing their populations.