The Vaccines are here. This good news was announced and last week distribution of the Pfizer vaccine began and Moderna’s is awaiting an FDA EUA. So as this rolls out what does it mean for employers and their employee health improvement programs?

Well to begin there are still many unanswered questions:

• How long will it take to vaccinate a significant number of people in the US?
• How many will refuse to be vaccinated?
• How long will immunity last?
• What will the long term numbers for vaccine effectiveness look like, will it remain at 95%?

While these and many more still exist, employers have changed their operations and many of these changes will continue, assuming we have brought the COVID Pandemic under some sort of reasonable control.  This New Normal will continue with many people continuing to work from home.

So what should an employer consider in regards to their employee health improvement programs and their benefits plans?

Clearly, the work from home routine has shown:

• Increased mental health issues associated with loneliness, depression, stress, and anxiety.
• Many have reduced their physical activity while others took it as an opportunity to ramp their’s up.
• Diet was also impacted although I’m not sure how much. Was it easier to get that fast food pizza delivery or a drive-through burger than going to the grocery store for food?  Did stress and anxiety lead to more binge eating?
• Children’s health issues and support for their needs have increased as schools went virtual, kids played with others less and their normal routines changed.
• People did not access their doctors and routine exams, primary care visits, even cancer care, and other services decreased. Studies have shown that vaccinations of children dropped. At the same time, the use of Telehealth surged.

For these and many more reasons, employers should consider reviewing and revising their employee health improvement programs and benefits.

That’s where we can help, whether you need a part-time Medical Advisor, a review of your benefit plan, strategies to employ in the New Normal, or other employee health improvement ideas.

If you’d like to ask a few questions or get a proposal, schedule a call or contact us.