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To:
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Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members
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From:
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Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or 217/522-5805
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Re:
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – Questions, Concerns Abound for Employer Liability from COVID-19 Vaccinations; ACC Tracker with Vaccine Updates & COVID-19 Orders; Update on COVID-19 Cases
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Questions, Concerns Abound for Employer Liability from COVID-19 Vaccinations: With the first roll out of COVID-19 vaccines this week, many employers are left with the question as to when vaccines become available for their employees, should companies make the vaccine mandatory for their workers. It’s been reported that either choice carries a risk: it could expose a company to lawsuits from employees who object to the vaccine for a number of reasons or those who have adverse reactions to the vaccine. There is no long-term data on potential side effects nor whether individuals who get vaccinated can still carry and transmit the virus. Conversely, not having a mandate could increase company liability in the case of a workplace outbreak.
In a few press reports, employment law experts claim the more prudent course of action at this early stage is to encourage vaccination by educating workers about the safety and efficacy of authorized COVID-19 vaccines, covering the cost of the vaccination, and if possible, offer the vaccine on-site. Meanwhile, companies should maintain other protective measures such as social distancing, mask-wearing, sanitization, etc.
Even “essential workers”, such as many CICI member company employees, likely won’t be able to get vaccinated for a few months, these same employment law experts recommend surveying employees to get a sense of whether they’re likely to get vaccinated when shots become available.
ACC Tracker with Vaccine Updates & COVID-19 Orders: Attached to this Update is the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) comprehensive COVID-19 Tracker chart that includes a “State Vaccine Plans” tab (at the bottom) where you can find the vaccination plans for every state. This chart also details some state specific orders and mitigation measures as well as executive orders and legislation relating to business liability.
Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 870,600 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 7,529 new positive tests per day since reported here 5 days ago on December 11. In total, 12,055,288 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 93,798 tests per day since December 11.
The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 8.5% for the last 7 days, and 8.02% in the last 5 days. You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations, and other metrics at this link.
Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 14,655 deaths, an average increase of 121 per day since December 11.
You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.
Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities. The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.
For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, and interactive maps.
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