TENNESSEE (AP) – As COVID-19 vaccinations continue across the US, some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to take the plunge.
Dollar General is one of the first major companies to announce extra pay for workers being vaccinated. The Goodlettsville, a Tennessee retailer that operates nearly 17,000 stores in 46 states, said Wednesday it will pay employees the four-hour amount if they get the vaccine.
Dollar General said the extra payment is intended to reimburse travel time, mileage and childcare costs that employees will incur to get the vaccine.
“We do not want our employees to have to choose between receiving a vaccine or coming to work,” Dollar General said.
The retailer said it encourages employees to get the vaccines, but does not need them. In its annual report last February, the company said it had 143,000 employees.
A vaccine advisory panel at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control voted late last month on recommendations for vaccine distribution. The panel said grocery workers – which includes Dollar General’s employees – should be in the second group to receive shots fired at health care workers and nursing home residents.
Firefighters, police, teachers, correctional workers, postal workers and others are in the second group, along with people aged 75 and older. There are about 50 million people in the group.
The distribution of vaccines in Utah will be handled at the provincial level, which means the residents’ experience will be different depending on where they live. More information can be found here.
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