Refuse to Get ‘Jabbed’? Pay $200 Health Insurance Surcharge Each Month, Delta Air Lines Tells Staff

Delta Air Lines has told its staff that if they don’t get vaccinated against Covid, they will be forced to pay a $200 monthly health insurance surcharge. This comes shortly after President Joe Biden urged U.S. companies to “require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements”. The Guardian has the story.

In a new memo sent to Delta employees, CEO Ed Bastian announced that unvaccinated employees enrolled in Delta’s account-based healthcare plan will be subject to a $200 monthly surcharge starting November 1st.

“The average hospital stay for Covid has cost Delta $50,000 per person. This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” Bastian wrote.

Starting September 12th, any U.S. employee who is not fully vaccinated will be required to take a Covid test each week. Additionally, starting from September 30th, Delta’s Covid pay protection will be provided only to fully vaccinated individuals who experience breakthrough infections.

Currently, 75% of Delta staff are vaccinated. The airline has also partnered with the state of Georgia to operate the state’s largest mass vaccination site at the Delta Flight Museum, where approximately 35% of Georgia’s mass vaccination doses were administered to residents.

“While we can be proud of our 75% vaccination rate, the aggressiveness of the variant means we need to get many more of our people vaccinated, and as close to 100% as possible,” Bastian added in the memo.

Worth reading in full.