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The Northeast Business Group on Health is continuing to promote employer support for vaccination programs.
The New York-based, nonprofit employer group has published a new guide for employers on strategies for strengthening an employer's "vaccination-friendly culture."
The NEBGH group board includes representatives from a wide range of large employers, including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Pfizer. Pfizer is a major vaccine maker.
NEBGH created the new employer guide with funding from Pfizer and Merck.
NEBGH published an employer guide to strategies for creating a vaccine-friendly culture in 2022.
The group's member organizations provide health benefits for about 9 million people in the United States.
The backdrop: The new NBGH guide is appearing as employer vaccination benefits that once had strong, bipartisan support are now affected by fierce, partisan battles in Washington over vaccination policy.
A federal vaccine advisory group, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is recommending that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. change some current federal vaccination recommendations, such as a recommendation that almost all people over 65 should receive vaccinations against COVID-19.
People over 65 tend to suffer from high death rates when they get COVID.
ACIP says people over 65 should talk to their doctors and engage in individual decision-making before getting COVID vaccinations.
Health insurers have said that they intend to base their vaccination benefits on the vaccination recommendations and benefits rules that were in effect Sept. 1, 2025.
The new guide: The authors of the new guide are encouraging employers to take steps such as setting goals for employee vaccination and communicating with health plans.
"Make sure your health plan knows that vaccination is a key priority for your organization," the authors of the guide write.
Chief executive officers and other top executives, such as chief financial officers, should make a point of getting vaxxed, according to the guide.
"When the CEO and CFO are all rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated, it's a big statement," the authors of the guide write, citing the advice of Litjen Tan, the chief policy and partnership officer at Immunize.org.
The authors also provide a "checklist of action steps."
Items on the checklist include offering time for employees to get vaccinated and informing employees that they won't have to pay for recommended vaccines.
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