Internal documents suggest the Pfizer, the drug manufacturer responsible for one the world’s leading coronavirus vaccines, does not require coronavirus vaccination of its employees.
Images of a purported “confidential” Pfizer booklet written by Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Payal Betcher indicate the company has defied President Joe Biden’s push to have private companies mandate vaccination and only requires testing of its unvaccinated employees.
“Please note that if you have declared you are not been vaccinated, decline to declare your status, or have a medial or a religious accommodation, Pfizer will require that you participate in a COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing regimen,” images of the literature read.
The documents also indicates over 80 percent of company employees opted to receive the vaccine, suggesting slightly under 20 percent of the Pfizer workforce remain unvaccinated.
The leaked documents come after Biden met with airline executives to convince them to mandate vaccinations for their employees.
“But companies have wrestled with the extent of their authority to require shots,” Reuters reported. “Among the concerns is the possibility that companies will be exposed to discrimination lawsuits as they call staff back to their desks after 18 months of pandemic-induced work from home.”
That risk has not stopped Biden’s efforts. “I will have their backs and the backs of other private and public sector leaders if they take such steps,” he said on August 3.
According to a survey by consultants at Mercer studying over 200 American companies, 14 percent require staff to be vaccinated to work in the office.
Biden stated Wednesday he has federal government lawyers looking into if he can mandate vaccinations for all Americans. “People are dying and will die who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” he said July 29.
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