Poll: 57% Of Americans Say Co-Workers Should Have To Take Coronavirus Vaccine.
More than half of Americans, 57%, want their employer to require all employees to get the coronavirus vaccine before returning to the workplace, according to a CNBC and Survey Monkey poll published Friday, as cases are on the rise and medical experts have said widespread inoculation is crucial for fully returning to “normal” life.
Some 73% of workers age 65 and older support a vaccine mandate, compared to 51% of workers age 35 to 44 and 53% of workers age 25 to 34.
Almost an equal percentage of Black and white workers support it, at 56% and 55% respectively, versus 63% of Hispanic workers and 87% of Asian employees.
There is a clear partisan divide, with 75% of Democrats in favor, compared to 55% of Independents and 41% of Republicans.
Just over 41% of Republicans are “strongly opposed” to a requirement, while 25% of Independents and 10% of Democrats feel the same.
CNBC and Survey Monkey surveyed 9,209 people from November 30 to December 14.
KEY BACKGROUND
It is legal for employers in the U.S. to require employees to get vaccinated, with some caveats. Lindsay Ryan, an employment lawyer, told CNBC that the exceptions include people who object on religious grounds or have certain medical conditions. Under federal law, employers don’t have to grant a religious accommodation if they can show it would result in more than a minimal cost to business operations, Ryan said, meaning there is a low standard given the overwhelming impact the pandemic has had on businesses. People are not likely to be able to use being opposed to vaccines or scared of taking a brand new vaccine as a way to get out of a company requirement, Ryan added.
TANGENT
Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts, on Thursday told CNBC that life could approach “some level of normality” by mid-fall if 75% to 85% of Americans are vaccinated by the end of summer. Vulnerable people who have not been vaccinated or people for which the vaccine was not effective would be protected because enough of the population would be vaccinated to sufficiently slow the spread.