Vaccine reluctance & General COVID Discussion

I agree. That is whyI said that it was not a full explanation, but it may be an explanation for part of the anti-vax sentiment. So, the fact that it doesn’t explain everything does not mean it is not a contributing factor.

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Here’s some good news:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/health/johnson-vaccine-booster-data/index.html

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There might be fewer of them after COVID then… :stuck_out_tongue:

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Delta is among the first but it won’t be the last company to do so.

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The article isn’t talking about the Black community.

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Cull the herd (of white supremacists)!

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Wonder if that’s legal?

I understood that to be the case but was pointing out the hyperbolic and deliberately inflammatory nature of the article.

I also don’t think the 40% of white people across America who are unvaccinated are white supremacists (which is the implication). I disagree with their personal decision, would hope they would reconsider and try and create both incentives and inform them of the risks of not getting vaccinated in the hope of compelling them to get the jab.

I don’t think having a conversation that includes calling someone a Nazi, racist, idiot, or fool is productive for either party.

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I assume it is, or at least Delta (and other companies that adopt similar policies) has done the legal due diligence. Many, if not most, large companies are also self-insured, which may give them more discretion.

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I wonder if the unions representing the Delta employees will balk at this. The terms of their health insurance are likely covered in the union contract. But I applaud Delta for doing this.

small nit, but most likely Delta is lowering the insurance costs of the vaccinated thru its Wellness Incentive program. (Other than tobacco use, the ACA precludes premium ratings by health status.)

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The article I read said charging an extra $200 per month. And it would be nice if Congress amended the ACA to allow insurance carriers to charge the unvaccinated a monthly surcharge.

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I imagine it might be challenged in court. Will be interesting to see what the outcome is.

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You may very well be right. If the company is self-insured, it bears the cost and will charge premiums accordingly. If some employees pay less, others would have to pay more.

Regarding genetics, it’s not white supremacy, but those unvaxed I know almost uniformly believe they will do well if they get Covid because their immune system is fine and can handle it. They believe everyone who is dying has other issues going on.

Putting it another way, they feel their genetics and health are fine and Covid will be no worse than a cold - if that - for them. Those who die would have shortly died from something else anyway and Covid just accelerates it.

If I point out those with nothing else seemingly wrong with some of the bad cases I’m told I just don’t know the whole story.

Plus there are many who feel God decides just as He does with car accidents and other things that take otherwise well people. When I mention seat belts I get eye rolls, coupled with, “you don’t put those into your bodies.” If I equate it to masks I’m told seat belts work, masks don’t and are just part of the hoax and in the past got links to the few who broadcast that on the net.

44% vaccinated in my county. I’m glad to be vaxed. They can play Russian Roulette.

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I do think that those with underlying conditions are more likely to get sick and die from Covid. I also think there may be something in people’s genetic make-up, metabolism, or something else that makes some seemingly healthy people get really bad cases. Perhaps someday science will isolate what this X factor is, but as of now it’s a mystery.
Currently, the majority of those in ICU are in the under 40 category. They are those who thought they were immune because they were young and healthy.

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Cartoon on the subject:

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I would be very surprised if Delta hasn’t already negotiated with the union for these changes in their health insurance.

The company may have said, we can raise the costs for all employees or we can raise them for only those who are not vaccinated.

Delta can pretty much do whatever it wants with non union employees. For them to announce something like this publicly, I would suspect there is already an agreement.

Employees can sue but as someone said upthread, it most likely is written into their wellness. My husband’s company has all kinds of wellness requirements. Do them or pay more for your health insurance. He is salaried.

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True, and the article posted wrote “surcharge”, but journalists are not necessarily known for nuance. :slight_smile:

That said, the math is the same.

No they cannot. By law, their plans must comply with the ACA.

The number of people who would be working and can claim that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons is vanishingly small. Our client who has a vaccine requirement had 17 out of thousands and thousand of employees seek medical exemption. All were denied because even though their personal physician wrote a note the panel of top allergists and other medical professionals said none of the reasons were legitimate to provide exemption from vaccination.

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