(HealthDay News) — COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates in the workplace have the support of roughly half of American workers, a new poll shows.
Approximately 59% of those working remotely and 47% of those working in person are in favor of vaccine requirements, whereas about one-quarter of workers in both groups are opposed. Workplace mask mandates have the support of 59% of remote workers and 50% of in-person workers, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey conducted Aug. 12 to 16. Notably, the poll was conducted before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. About 71% of in-person workers said they are vaccinated.
Both vaccine requirements and mask mandates were supported by six in 10 college graduates — who are more likely to have jobs that can be done remotely — and by about four in 10 workers without college degrees, the Associated Press reported. About 70% of respondents who work in a health care setting approve vaccine requirements at their workplace.
The poll of more than 1,700 adults also revealed that workplace mask and vaccine mandates have less support among white workers (42 and 44%, respectively) than among Black workers (73 and 53%, respectively) and Hispanic workers (59 and 53%, respectively), who are more likely to have frontline jobs, the AP reported.
So far, many vaccine requirements have been issued by private companies with employees who have mostly been able to work from home during the pandemic. The companies also already have workforces that are largely vaccinated and consider the requirement a key step toward eventually reopening offices, the AP reported. In contrast, few companies that rely on hourly workers have followed suit because the companies are concerned about losing staff during labor shortages and turnover.
