Roughly 1 in 4 people in the United States has now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, crossing an important threshold on our journey to recovery. As more Americans get vaccinated, there is encouraging evidence that vaccine hesitancy is waning across many population groups. According to the most recent Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, a growing number of vaccine-reluctant Americans consider themselves persuadable, indicating that comfort with the vaccine may be increasing with time.

No business is too small to be a COVID-19 vaccine leader. Across the country, local businesses are partnering with public health departments and medical experts to build trust and confidence in vaccines. Community leadership can take many forms, from inviting medical professionals to brief your workforce to ensuring workers have access to language services and on-site vaccinations at your place of business.

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Building Trust and Confidence in Vaccines

Vaccine hesitancy is not evenly distributed throughout the country or even within communities. Below, we've collected audience insights, tools and strategies to help you engage employees who may still be undecided.

1. Conservatives: Nearly half of Republican men (49%) say they do not plan to get vaccinated. But recent research conducted by the de Beaumont Foundation and Republican pollster Frank Luntz found that when conservative men received COVID-19 vaccine facts from a medical source, enumerated clearly without political undertones, most respondents were more likely to get the vaccine. We've created this tip sheet to help you recruit and prepare an expert speaker to share vaccine facts with your workforce.
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2. Communities of Color: Early media reports may have mischaracterized the extent of vaccine hesitancy in Black communities. In fact, a recent NPR/Marist poll found little difference in vaccine hesitancy between Black and white Americans, suggesting instead that unequal access may be driving the stark racial differences in vaccine uptake. Businesses can boost vaccine participation by removing barriers to vaccination and creating trusted spaces where workers can engage with community leaders of color to foster honest conversations. We've created this guidance to help you support Black, Hispanic, and other employee groups that may have unique questions or need extra help accessing vaccines.
   
3. Responding to Misinformation: Media coverage and misinformation circulating online can create conflicting narratives about vaccine safety and efficacy. Local business groups can help build vaccine confidence by holding virtual briefings with public health officials to keep businesses updated with the latest vaccine facts. We've created this conversation guide to help managers lead productive discussions about vaccines, and this tip sheet to help companies navigate sensitive questions and respond to misinformation.

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Business Leadership in Action

Safeway partners with Palo Alto Unified to support on-site teacher vaccinations.‍

Safeway joined with the school district to encourage vaccine access among educators, leading to over 200 school district employees receiving their doses ahead of a return-to-classroom learning.‍

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Krispy Kreme will offer a free daily donut to customers who show proof of vaccination.‍

Krispy Kreme launched its Be Sweet to Your Community campaign with a tasty offer: one free glazed donut per day for customers who have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations. The campaign will run through 2021 to encourage as many Americans to get vaccinated as possible.‍

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Trucking associations push for truck stops to become drive-through vaccine hubs.‍

The American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association, and others have been collaborating with state and federal public health agencies to increase vaccine access to truckers and the general public by transforming truck stops into quick-serve vaccination stations.

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‍America’s largest businesses are moving toward COVID-19 vaccination passports.‍

From major airports to the hospitality industry, some of America’s largest and most successful travel and leisure corporations are embracing a COVID-19 passport as a means to promote public health while encouraging mass vaccination.‍

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One of Idaho’s largest potato farms got hundreds of employees vaccinated--here’s how they did it.‍

With Idaho agricultural employees eligible to receive their doses a month earlier than anticipated, public health officials partnered with large employers to create “strike teams” to rapidly deploy the vaccine on-site at some of the state’s largest commercial farms.‍

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Grand Rapids Chamber offers meals to vaccine clinic workers in latest community fundraising effort.‍

The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and local t-shirt company, Green Giftz, launched a campaign to purchase meals for vaccine clinic workers by selling t-shirts that promote community spirit. ‍‍