TENNESSEE (AP) – As COVID-19 vaccinations continue in the US, some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their employees to take the shot.
Dollar General is one of the first major companies to announce additional pay for employees getting vaccinated. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based retailer, which operates nearly 17,000 stores in 46 states, said Wednesday it will give employees the equivalent of four hours’ wages if they receive the vaccine.
Dollar General said the extra pay is intended to offset the travel time, mileage and childcare costs employees will incur to get the vaccine.
“We don’t want our employees to have to choose between getting a vaccine or coming to work,” said Dollar General.
The shopkeeper said it encourages employees to get the vaccines but doesn’t 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 on recommendations for vaccine distribution late last month. The panel said grocery workers – including Dollar General employees – should be in the second group to shoot after health workers and nursing home residents.
Firefighters, police, teachers, correction workers, postal workers, and others belong to that second group, along with people 75 and older. There are about 50 million people in that group.
Vaccine distribution in Utah will be handled at the county level, meaning that each resident’s experience will be different depending on where they live. More information can be found here.
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