Dan Glaser, CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, told CNBC on Thursday that he does not expect employers to implement coronavirus vaccination orders widely.
In a “Squawk Box” interview, Glaser said that corporate America recognizes the importance of vaccines in reducing the pandemic. “Don’t get me wrong: Leaders want their employees to be vaccinated, but I think orders are going to be very rare,” he said.
However, Glaser, who has been the consulting firm and insurance broker based in New York since 2013, said Marsh & McLennan is advising clients to strongly encourage vaccinations against Covid-19. “We all want to return to a more normal lifestyle … and vaccines are needed for that,” he said.
First Americans outside of clinical trials began receiving Covid-19 vaccines last week, and health care workers and long-term care facility residents are getting priority in the first wave of the doses available.
It will still be some time before vaccines become widely available to the general public, Glaser noted, which is an important piece of the puzzle for companies as they consider policies. “That’s still a way of it, especially when you think of a global foundation,” he said.
“In general, a mandate should be a government action rather than individual companies,” he said. “If we leave it to companies, it will make a big difference, and that will be the case. the whole purpose of universal vaccinations. “
Earlier this week, Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol told CNBC that the company did not currently intend to ask employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19. The social media giant Facebook reportedly will not need vaccines until employees can return to the office. Ford and General Motors have also said they will not issue vaccine orders.
However, an opinion poll from Yale University Leadership Institute suggests that some C-suites may be reluctant to prescribe Covid-19 vaccines. Just over 70% of CEOs surveyed at a recent summit said companies should be working on vaccines, according to data shared by CNBC with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who led a collection significant of operators.
There is some question as to whether companies could currently order Covid-19 vaccines as the Food and Drug Administration has only issued emergency use licenses, which is not the same as full licenses. That’s why the UAB Health System in Alabama isn’t ordering it, CEO Will Ferniany told CNBC on Dec. 17. However, if full approval is granted later and companies decide requirements vaccine activists, legal experts told CNBC earlier this month, workers who could refuse to burn vaccines.
Glaser said there is no question about the importance of broad-based vaccines for resuming economic activity. “I’m just telling you the fact that I don’t believe, from the companies that we’re talking to, that there is a desire for prescriptions for vaccines,” he said.