COVID Deaths For Vaccinated Workers Plummet, United Airlines CEO Says

NEWARK, NJ — Is United Airlines’ coronavirus vaccine mandate for employees working? According to the company’s CEO, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Earlier this week, Scott Kirby wrote a letter to United Airline workers, giving them an update about the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which rolled out last summer. More than 99 percent of U.S.-based United employees have chosen to get vaccinated, the company recently reported, excluding those who asked for a religious or medical exemption.

The few who refused faced strict consequences. United Airlines announced that it planned to fire nearly 600 unvaccinated workers in September.

On Tuesday, Kirby said the company has gone eight straight weeks without a COVID-19-related death among its vaccinated employees. Prior to the vaccine mandate, at least one United employee was dying every week on average from complications related to the disease.

• See related article: Catering Employees At Newark Airport Mourn Infected Co-Workers

“Our frontline teams continue to put in a tremendous effort during what I know is an incredibly challenging and stressful time,” Kirby said. “The omicron surge has put a strain on our operation, resulting in customer disruptions during a busy holiday season.”

“In addition to impacting our operation and our customers, I also know that omicron has affected the personal well-being of our United team,” Kirby continued. “We have about 3,000 employees who are currently positive for COVID. Just as an example, in one day alone at Newark, nearly one-third of our workforce called out sick.”

But there is good news, too, he added:

“While we have about 3,000 employees who are currently positive for COVID, zero of our vaccinated employees are currently hospitalized. Since our vaccine policy went into effect, the hospitalization rate among our employees has been 100x lower than the general population in the U.S. Prior to our vaccine requirement, tragically, more than one United employee on average per week was dying from COVID. But we’ve now gone eight straight weeks with zero COVID-related deaths among our vaccinated employees – based on United’s prior experience and the nationwide data related to COVID fatalities among the unvaccinated, that means there are approximately eight to ten United employees who are alive today because of our vaccine requirement.”

“In dealing with COVID, zero is the word that matters — zero deaths and zero hospitalizations for vaccinated employees,” Kirby concluded. “And while I know that some people still disagree with our policy, United is proving that requiring the vaccine is the right thing to do because it saves lives.”

• See related article: Newark Airport, Others Will Test For Omicron COVID Variant
• See related article: NJ Health Expert Says Travel Bans 'Ineffective' Against Omicron

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