Providing paid time off could help close vaccination gap for Black and Hispanic workers
Blacks and Hispanic are less likely to receive COVID-19 vaccinations despite their higher rates of illness and death from the virus.
Despite the CDC’s recent rollback of mask-wearing recommendations for vaccinated individuals, the country is nowhere near the level of vaccinations necessary for herd immunity. More than 55% of Americans have no received at least one dose of the vaccine, though not all demographics are progressing quite at the same rate.
Blacks and Hispanic are less likely to receive COVID-19 vaccinations despite their higher rates of illness and death from the virus. Employers can help close the gap by addressing their specific concerns and making vaccination as easy as possible, according to a KFF report.
Among the report’s findings:
Hispanic and Black adults are more likely than their white counterparts to report concerns about missing work to get or recover from the COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly two-thirds of unvaccinated Hispanic adults and more than half of Black adults are concerned that they might miss work because of side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to roughly four in 10 unvaccinated white adults.
These increased concerns reflect that Hispanic and Black adults are more likely than their white counterparts to be employed in low-wage positions that are less likely to have access to paid leave. As such, they have less flexibility to take time off work and, if they do miss work, they often face lost wages that may leave them in a difficult financial situation.
Providing paid time off to employees to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects could help boost vaccination rates. Overall, nearly three in 10 employed adults say that they would be more likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine if their employer gave them paid time off. This strategy may be particularly effective for boosting vaccination rates among Hispanic adults, because more than half of employed Hispanic adults who are not yet ready to get vaccinated say their employer providing paid time off would increase their willingness to get a shot, compared to 19% of their white counterparts.
The American Rescue Plan makes tax credits available to employers to cover the costs of providing paid leave to employees to receive and recover from COVID-19 vaccinations. Small and midsize employers and certain governmental employers are eligible to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave, including leave taken by employees to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccinations. Eligible employers include any business, including tax-exempt organizations, with fewer than 500 employees as well as certain governmental employers.
Looking ahead, the American Families Plan would increase the availability of paid medical leave for workers, which could help reduce barriers to health care that disproportionately affect people of color. The American Families Plan would phase in 12 weeks of paid parental, family and personal illness/safe leave for workers over 10 years. Providing this leave could help reduce racial disparities in access to paid leave, which could facilitate individuals’ ability to access health care, including preventive care, as well as enable individuals take time off when they are sick or to care for a sick family member.
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