Move comes after company logs about 3,000 positive cases among its workforce
United Airlines is offering staff at select airports booster shots amid the threat of the Omicron to the company's workforce. United spokesperson Leslie Scott told CNBC that the company has relaunched the administration of vaccines to employees at Newark Liberty International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and Won Pat International Airport in Guam.
According to Scott, this is the company's way of making the boosters easily accessible to employees, although she clarified that the airline is not yet including booster shots in the company's definition of a fully vaccinated individual. This is unlike other companies and governments across the world, including Apple, as well as Victoria and New South Wales in Australia, that have made it mandatory for frontline staff to get the booster shots.
United's vaccine mandate is well-known for being one of the strictest among US carriers, with unvaccinated employees to face termination if they do not have religious or medical exemptions. The policy was even challenged in court, which ultimately sided with the airline.
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About 3,000 COVID-positive staff
The company's decision to start administering booster shots came as the United chief executive officer Scott Kirby revealed last week that there were about 3,000 employees who tested positive for COVID-19.
"In one day alone at Newark, nearly one-third of our workforce called out sick," Kirby said in an open letter to employees.
Despite this, Kirby said that none of the COVID-positive employees who are fully vaccinated are hospitalised.
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"Since our vaccine policy went into effect, the hospitalisation rate among our employees has been 100x lower than the general population in the U.S.," he said.
According to Kirby, the company was averaging one COVID-related death among its workforce per week before the company's vaccine mandate took effect. However, following its implementation, the company has gone eight straight weeks without COVID-related casualties among vaccinated staff.
"Based on United's prior experience and the nationwide data related to COVID fatalities among the unvaccinated, that means there are approximately 8-10 United employees who are alive today because of our vaccine requirement," Kirby pointed out.
The United CEO said "zero" is the only word that matters in dealing with COVID, including "zero deaths and zero hospitalisations for vaccinated employees."
And while there are still employees who disagree with the mandate, Kirby stressed that the results are proving that getting vaccinated is the "right thing" to do because it is saving lives.