Tyson Foods will require all employees at its offices in the United States to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by October 1, while non-office workers must be inoculated by November 1, subject to ongoing discussions at work sites represented by labor unions.
This action makes it the largest US food company to insist on vaccinations for its entire workforce. Almost half of Tyson Foods’ employees in the United States has already been inoculated and coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection rates among its personnel remain low.
In recent weeks there has been a significant uptick in Covid-19 outbreaks reported globally, with the number of new cases put at 587,221 on August 2. The death toll attributed to the virus that spread from China to infect virtually the entire world has surpassed 4,242,000 over the past 17 months.
“China is confronting its broadest Covid-19 outbreak since coronavirus first emerged there in late 2019, with the Delta variant spreading to places that had been virus-free for months, including the original epicenter of Wuhan,” Bloomberg reported on August 2. “Delta has broken through the country’s virus defenses, which are some of the strictest in the world, and reached nearly half of China’s 32 provinces in just two weeks. While the overall number of infections – more than 300 so far – is still lower than Covid resurgences elsewhere, the wide spread indicates that the variant is moving quickly.”
“Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is the single most effective thing we can do to protect our team members, their families and their communities,” said Dr. Claudia Coplein, chief medical officer of Springdale, Arkansas-headquartered Tyson Foods, which employs approximately 139,000 people around the world. “With rapidly rising Covid-19 case counts of contagious, dangerous variants leading to increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization among unvaccinated populations, this is the right time to take the next step to ensure a fully vaccinated workforce.”
Overall, about 189.9 million people – or 57 percent of the American population – have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to figures from the CDC. However, the White House on August 2 reported that the percentage is now upwards of 70%. The CDC says that about 163.9 million people, or 49 percent of the total US population, have now been fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, there remains a significant chunk of the population that is reluctant to be vaccinated for a number of reasons, including concern that the “emergency use” Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson shots have not yet been approved by the FDA.
Among those reluctant to take the jab are medical personnel, as it is estimated that nationwide one in four hospital workers who have direct contact with patients had not received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of May, according to a WebMD and Medscape Medical News analysis of data collected by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2,500 hospitals across the United States.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on August 3 that it’s “very hard” to mandate people be vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel domestically because the shots are not yet approved. The airline has no plans at this time to require that passengers on domestic flights show proof of having been fully vaccinated.
“It’s very difficult for us to come in and mandate a vaccine that isn’t even federally approved yet. The authorization hasn’t been final yet, so stay tuned,” he stated.
Tyson Foods will allow exceptions to its vaccination mandate policy for workers who seek medical or religious accommodation.
In business since 1935,Tyson ranks as one of the world’s largest food companies and is a recognized market leader in chicken, beef and pork as well as prepared foods, ranging from bacon and breakfast sausage to turkey, lunchmeat, hot dogs, pizza crusts and toppings, tortillas and desserts. Its value-added product offerings include a wide range of frozen products including any’tizers chicken twists, chicken wings and breast fillets. Among its leading real brands are Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Sara Lee, Ball Park, Wright, Aidells and State Fair.
