Many Miamians express vaccine skepticism. Here’s how business leaders hope to change their minds
Sometimes it’s not what you are told that does the convincing — but who tells it to you.
Developer Armando Codina is hoping that his firm’s employees will be persuaded to get a COVID-19 vaccine once they see him take one.
The longtime Coral Gables-based executive happens to be in the vulnerable population and is eager to take the inoculation for personal reasons. But he has been informed by his human resources staff that there remains strong skepticism to the shots among many of his employees.
Codina blames politics.
“We’re in such a bad place in this country,” he said. “Whether it’s the masks, or being indoors versus outdoors, or [the] vaccine...Politicians often screw many things up and contribute to the lack of confidence.”
So — like political figures including Vice President Mike Pence and President-elect Joe Biden — he hopes to lead by example and inspire his workers to do what he says is the right thing.
“I will be the first person in my office to take it, and that way try to educate our associates,” he said. “I understand there are personal situations — it’s a very personal decision. Given how this is going to be rolled out, I think it will give people the chance to evolve. I’m afraid of needles — but I’m more afraid of not spending time with my grandchildren.”
Given its majority-minority population, Greater Miami is likely facing lower vaccine uptake compared with the rest of the U.S. According to a survey by Kaiser Family Foundation, just 26% of Hispanic populations said they would take one “as soon as possible”; among Black Americans, it was 20%.
As Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo, chief of general internal medicine at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, told the Miami Herald earlier this month, “There’s some really bad actors that are playing on that vulnerability.”
While Codina said he is unlikely to mandate a vaccine, employers can “absolutely” do so, said Jay Starkman, an employment attorney and CEO of Engage PEO, a Hollywood, Fl, firm that provides human resources services to small and mid-sized companies around the country.
And while they must provide exceptions for employees who decline to be vaccinated for religious or medical reasons, companies that decide to require vaccinations can fire people for declining to do so, Starkman said.
Employers also have another, less drastic option: Launch a campaign to encourage everyone in the company to do so. Some companies reluctant to order vaccinations are considering offering bonuses for employees to get the shots, Starkman said.
What corporate executives can’t afford to do, he said, is to have no policy at all on coronavirus vaccination.
“In this environment, with the numbers we are seeing across the country, employers should not ignore the issue,” Starkman said. “The leaders need to be setting an example and having candid conversations with employees at minimum.”
Both approaches have pitfalls, he noted. Making vaccines mandatory can hurt workforce morale, especially among those who don’t want the shots. It also can open up the company to liability if an employee required to get a vaccination develops an adverse reaction — such as the severe allergic reactions some trials in Britain reported.
But making it voluntary could have worse effects, he said, making employees reluctant to come in to work in an office or group setting for fear of getting infected by a co-worker. Some percentage of workers will not get inoculated if not required to, Starkman said.
Most of the CEOs that Engage works with — typically at companies with around 100 workers — are leaning towards requiring a vaccine, he said.
“If an employer has that policy, employees know that by going to work, they’re going to be safe,” Starkman said.
But few have made any decisions yet. That’s true of major local employers including Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Group, and Spirit Airlines.
“They are waiting and seeing how this unfolds,” Starkman said. “It’s a little premature to be throwing mandates around.”
Frank Steslow, president of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, said he believes the road ahead toward accurately informing the public will prove bumpy. In particular, he fears inevitable reports of side effects will take flight on social media and cause the initial burst of enthusiasm for the vaccine to subside.
“It’s going to go up and down in terms of the willingness of people to become vaccinated,” Steslow said.
Herald staff writer Taylor Dolven contributed to this story.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
