From Walt Disney World to Goldman Sachs, a flurry of private and public employers are requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after the federal government gave full approval to the Pfizer shot. And the number is certain to grow much higher.

For the past eight months, coronavirus shots were dispensed in the U.S. under emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Some workers and unions objected to getting the vaccine — and some employers were reluctant to require it — because it had yet to receive FDA full approval. That happened on Monday.

“The FDA decision takes that off the table,” said Devjani Mishra, a New York-based attorney with the firm Littler Mendelson, which specializes in workplace matters. She and others in the worlds of business, law and health predicted more companies will mandate vaccines for their workforces.

Shortly after the FDA acted, Walt Disney World reached a deal with its unions to require all workers at its theme park in Orlando, Florida, to be vaccinated.

Goldman Sachs told employees Tuesday that it will require anyone who enters the bank’s U.S. offices to be fully vaccinated starting Sept. 7, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times.

Drugstore chain CVS said pharmacists, nurses and other workers who have contact with patients will have to be inoculated. Oil giant Chevron Corp. said it will require some of its workers — such as those who travel internationally, live abroad or work on its offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico — to get their COVID-19 shots.

“We pushed ‘go’ when the FDA made that decision,” said Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, president of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, which announced on Monday that its 800 faculty members, 1,500 staff members and 18,000 students will have to be vaccinated. Before that, only students living on campus had to get the shot.

She said the university could have legally mandated vaccines before the FDA decision but waited for it because Pescovitz, who is a pediatrician, believes the authorization will help persuade those still on the fence.

Ohio State University, too, announced Tuesday that it would require all students, faculty and staff to complete the full vaccination process by Nov. 15. Ohio State is among the country’s largest universities and is a major employer in Columbus, Ohio.

On Monday, health experts expressed hope that the FDA’s action would boost the U.S. vaccination rate, which bottomed out at about a half-million shots a day in July — down from a peak of 3.4 million a day on average in April.

The number of shots dispensed has since climbed to about 850,000 a day amid growing alarm over the highly contagious delta variant, which has sent deaths, cases and hospitalizations soaring, wiping out months of progress.

Littler Mendelson released a survey Monday showing that 9% of employers are already mandating vaccines for at least some of their workers, and an additional 12% are planning to impose some sort of mandate in the near future. In January, just 1% of firms Littler Mendelson surveyed had issued vaccine requirements.

There is a risk for employers at a time when many are struggling to fill openings and workers are confident of finding better jobs: Faced with a vaccine requirement, an employee might “say, ‘OK, fine. I’m leaving,'” Mishra said. “It’s not a given you’re going to be able to fill that job with someone who is vaccinated.’’

But Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, said he doesn’t foresee a large backlash.

“People will see that mandates can open their businesses and save their paychecks. They will see the effects and they will welcome it,” he said.

Earlier this summer, President Joe Biden announced that federal workers will have to get vaccinated or else face weekly testing and other measures.

The nation’s two largest private employers don’t seem to be budging. Walmart said Tuesday there is no change to its policy, which requires vaccinations for office workers but not store employees. And Amazon, which doesn’t mandate vaccines for any of its employees, declined to comment.

As for the auto industry, Ford Motor Co. said it is not requiring the vaccine, and General Motors has said it isn’t either, though CEO Mary Barra has held open the possibility.

The career-advice website Ladders Inc. released a study last week showing a more than 50-fold increase since January in job openings that require applicants to be vaccinated.

Ladders spokeswoman Laurie Monteforte predicted vaccine requirements will only rise after the FDA decision. Many employers, she said, have exhausted vaccine incentives such as bonuses or other perks.

Employers that require vaccines are on solid legal ground. Private companies and government employers can generally require workers to be inoculated as a condition of working there, though they must offer exemptions or accommodations in some cases.

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Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California has opted in to the federal COVID-19 Pharmacy Partnership. At no cost to the state or local government, CVS and Walgreens will administer the Pfizer vaccine to residents and staff in long-term care facilities. Starting December 28, CVS and Walgreens will start with nursing homes, which will take an estimated 3-4 weeks, and then vaccinate staff and residents in assisted living, residential care and other long-term care facilities.

“Vaccinating those most vulnerable among us is critical to fighting this virus,” said Governor Newsom. “By leveraging CVS and Walgreens resources, we can effectively deploy vaccines to residents and staff at our long-term care facilities, which are at higher risk of Covid transmission – and do it at no cost to the state or local government.”

The program will enable counties to leverage CVS and Walgreens pharmacy staff to administer the vaccine more broadly with pharmacy staff going directly to care facilities. Skilled Nursing Facilities will receive vaccine from staff from CVS and Walgreens. Approximately 499 nursing homes will be provided vaccine by CVS and 357 by Walgreens. The vaccines will be administered by pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses. Pharmacy technicians are participating under a recent waiver by the Board of Pharmacy that requires appropriate supervision under California law and specialized training.

“This partnership is an opportunity to augment other vaccination efforts at the local level to prioritize our most vulnerable Californians where we are seeing the most outbreaks, hospitalizations, and deaths,” said Dr. Erica Pan, Interim State Public Health Officer. “The partnership also allows us to continue to vaccinate other high priority individuals such as our front-line health care workers who are critical to our ongoing response to a surge of cases.”

Specifically, the program:

• Schedules and coordinates on-site vaccine clinic dates directly with each facility. Pharmacy staff will visit each facility several times to ensure that all residents and employees who wish to be vaccinated get the vaccine.

• Orders vaccines and associated supplies (e.g. syringes, needles, personal protective equipment).

• Ensures cold storage for the vaccine.

• Provides on-site administration of the vaccine to all residents and staff.

Gov.ca.gov • Contributed

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Building on the company’s comprehensive efforts to help slow the spread of the virus, on Friday, May 22 CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) will open 14 new COVID-19 test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations across California. The opening of additional test sites across the state and country will be announced by the end of the month.

These new sites will utilize self-swab tests and mark the next phase of the company’s nationwide COVID-19 testing strategy, announced April 27. CVS Health expects to have up to 1,000 locations across the country offering this service by the end of May, with the goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month, subject to availability of supplies and lab capacity. The 14 test sites in California are part of nearly 350 locations across 14 states including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

“While the large-scale test sites we’ve been operating since early April have proven successful, this new approach allows us to utilize our presence in communities across the country and bring testing closer to home,” said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Health. “Our frontline employees will continue to play a critical role in the testing process, with members of their communities directly benefiting from their dedication and selflessness.”

Once fully operational, more than half of the company’s 1,000 test sites will serve communities with the greatest need for support, as measured by the CDC‘s Social Vulnerability Index. The index tracks a variety of census variables including poverty, lack of access to transportation, and crowded housing that may weaken a community’s ability to prepare for and recover from hazardous events like natural disasters and disease outbreaks.

Self-swab tests will be available to individuals meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria, in addition to age guidelines. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com beginning Friday, May 22 to schedule an appointment. Patients will be required to stay in their cars and directed to the pharmacy drive-thru window where they will be provided with a test kit and given instructions, and a CVS Pharmacy team member will observe the self swab process to ensure it is done properly. Tests will be sent to an independent, third-party lab for processing and the results will be available in approximately three days.

Testing will not take place inside any retail locations, and CVS Pharmacy, HealthHUB and MinuteClinic will continue to serve customers and patients.

The new testing sites in California include:

CVS Pharmacy, 7740 Rancho Santa Fe Road, Carlsbad, CA 92009

CVS Pharmacy, 16 3rd Avenue Extension, Chula Vista, CA 91910

CVS Pharmacy, 645 East Palomar Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911

CVS Pharmacy, 1150 Baker Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

CVS Pharmacy, 14220 Schleisman Road, Eastvale, CA 92880

CVS Pharmacy, 1299 Broadway, El Cajon, CA 92021

CVS Pharmacy, 572 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon, CA 92020

CVS Pharmacy, 8101 Greenback Lane, Fair Oaks, CA 95627

CVS Pharmacy, 491 East Alessandro Boulevard, Riverside, CA 92508

CVS Pharmacy, 921 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach, CA 90740

CVS Pharmacy, 1350 Florin Road, Sacramento, CA 95831

CVS Pharmacy, 14589 Camino Del Norte, San Diego, CA 92128

CVS Pharmacy, 3350 Palm Avenue, San Diego, CA 92154

CVS Pharmacy, 18080 Imperial Highway, Yorba Linda, CA 92886

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Building on the company’s comprehensive efforts to help slow the spread of the virus, on Friday, May 22 CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) will open 14 new COVID-19 test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations across California. The opening of additional test sites across the state and country will be announced by the end of the month.

These new sites will utilize self-swab tests and mark the next phase of the company’s nationwide COVID-19 testing strategy, announced April 27. CVS Health expects to have up to 1,000 locations across the country offering this service by the end of May, with the goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month, subject to availability of supplies and lab capacity. The 14 test sites in California are part of nearly 350 locations across 14 states including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

“While the large-scale test sites we’ve been operating since early April have proven successful, this new approach allows us to utilize our presence in communities across the country and bring testing closer to home,” said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Health. “Our frontline employees will continue to play a critical role in the testing process, with members of their communities directly benefitting from their dedication and selflessness.”

Once fully operational, more than half of the company’s 1,000 test sites will serve communities with the greatest need for support, as measured by the CDC‘s Social Vulnerability Index. The index tracks a variety of census variables including poverty, lack of access to transportation, and crowded housing that may weaken a community’s ability to prepare for and recover from hazardous events like natural disasters and disease outbreaks.

Self-swab tests will be available to individuals meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria, in addition to age guidelines. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com beginning Friday, May 22 to schedule an appointment. Patients will be required to stay in their cars and directed to the pharmacy drive-thru window where they will be provided with a test kit and given instructions, and a CVS Pharmacy team member will observe the self swab process to ensure it is done properly. Tests will be sent to an independent, third-party lab for processing and the results will be available in approximately three days.

Testing will not take place inside any retail locations, and CVS Pharmacy, HealthHUB and MinuteClinic will continue to serve customers and patients.

The new testing sites in California include:

• CVS Pharmacy, 7740 Rancho Santa Fe Road, Carlsbad, CA 92009
• CVS Pharmacy, 16 3rd Avenue Extension, Chula Vista, CA 91910
• CVS Pharmacy, 645 East Palomar Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911
• CVS Pharmacy, 1150 Baker Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
• CVS Pharmacy, 14220 Schleisman Road, Eastvale, CA 92880
• CVS Pharmacy, 1299 Broadway, El Cajon, CA 92021
• CVS Pharmacy, 572 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon, CA 92020
• CVS Pharmacy, 8101 Greenback Lane, Fair Oaks, CA 95627
• CVS Pharmacy, 491 East Alessandro Boulevard, Riverside, CA 92508
• CVS Pharmacy, 921 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach, CA 90740
• CVS Pharmacy, 1350 Florin Road, Sacramento, CA 95831
• CVS Pharmacy, 14589 Camino Del Norte, San Diego, CA 92128
• CVS Pharmacy, 3350 Palm Avenue, San Diego, CA 92154
• CVS Pharmacy, 18080 Imperial Highway, Yorba Linda, CA 92886

A complete list of CVS Pharmacy Drive-thru test sites can be found here.

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