Company will pay employees to get vaccine

Have you received the COVID-19 vaccine? If not, do you plan to, once it’s available or do you have doubts?

If you do have doubts, you’re not alone. Some healthcare workers have said they won’t take it, either. We don’t know if that’s the right choice, but it’s up to the individual.

We know that the vaccine is being given to healthcare workers, senior citizens and front-line workers, first. Soon it will be available to everyone and one company wants to ensure that their employees will be vaccinated.

Dollar General has announced that it will pay their employees the equivalent of four hours’ pay if they will get vaccinated.

“We do not want our employees to have to choose between receiving a vaccine or coming to work,” Dollar General said in a CNN report, noting that its hourly workers face hurdles to getting vaccinated, such as travel time, gas mileage or childcare needs.

As of Oct. 30, the company has 157,000 employees. Though they are encouraging the vaccine, they will not require it. Not that they can, anyway, at least not really. An employer can require that you be vaccinated if you wish to continue to work for them. If you refuse, then you might be looking for employment elsewhere.

Is paying an employee to get vaccinated a good incentive? It might work for some, but not so much for others. There are anti-vaxxers who refuse to even take a flu shot, never mind a vaccine for COVID-19 or anything else. Then there are those who still aren’t sure about side effects and effectiveness.

We do think that each person who refuses to take it should probably weigh the pros and cons and consult their healthcare provider before they make a final decision — especially those with underlying health conditions, which would put them at a higher risk of serious illness or death, should they contract COVID-19.

We also wonder if other companies will follow Dollar General and offer to pay their employees to get vaccinated.