Can Your Employer Force You to Get the COVID Vaccine? - msnNOW

News of the development of three successful coronavirus vaccines—from Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca—dominated headlines when they were announced earlier in November. Now, as health officials decide exactly how doses will be doled out, some are beginning to wonder if there may come a point where they'll be required to get inoculated as a condition of their job. But is it legal for a company to make that request? The answer is complicated, but here's what the experts have to say about whether or not your employer can force you to get a COVID vaccine when it becomes available. Read on for the details, and for more about the vaccination process, check out If You're This Age, You May Be Last to Get the COVID Vaccine, Fauci Says.

According to a report from NPR, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) previously stated in 2009 that employers are legally allowed to enforce flu vaccine requirements for staff—which would mean that COVID vaccines will likely follow that precedent. However, employees also retain the right to refuse any required vaccination on religious or medical exemptions, which are protected under strict federal anti-discrimination laws.

"Employment in the United States is generally 'at will,' which means that your employer can set working conditions," Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings, who specializes in legal and policy issues related to vaccines, told AARP in September. "Certainly, employers can set health and safety work conditions, with a few limits."

But experts point out that since each dispute is individually investigated, the process can become too expensive and drawn out for employers to actually enforce. And with 42 percent of the public saying they are still unsure they will be confident enough to take an early round of the vaccine, according to a Nov. 17 Gallup poll, some expect that any such mandate will likely cause problems.

"It's going to have lots of pushback, and lots of people are going to claim exemptions," Y. Tony Yang, executive director of the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University, told NPR.

While Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca all await official approval on their vaccines, volunteers in clinical trials and doctors have shared what the vaccine actually feels like. Read on to find out what you might expect if and when you get your shot, and for more on the inoculation process, check out Dr. Fauci Says This Many People Need to Get Vaccinated to Stop COVID.

Read the original article on Best Life.

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