Timothy L. O'Brien, Columnist

Companies Should Hurry Up and Require Vaccines

Biden’s rules for big companies to require Covid-19 shots or tests for their employees will inevitably take time to draft — but ending the pandemic calls for fast action.

September 20, 2021 at 10:00 AM UTC

By Timothy L. O'Brien

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”

Companies should make their workers get the shot or be tested — right away. — Companies should make their workers get the shot or be tested — right away.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

It’s been less than two weeks since President Joe Biden said the federal government would throw its weight behind new Covid-19 vaccine and testing mandates for corporate America. And there are already signs of progress.

Last week, Biden hosted some of the country’s top business leaders at the White House to discuss the push. Afterward, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. said all their employees in the U.S. — about 250,000 and 130,000 workers, respectively — would have to get vaccinated. (Walgreens, like some of its corporate counterparts, is allowing workers to enroll in a testing program if they choose not to get a jab.)