Daniel P. Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has released the following statement in response to a new call to ban private sector COVID-19 vaccination mandates in Missouri:
“Vaccination is the key to Missouri’s economic recovery. Getting vaccinated is good for business, good for public health and it’s the only way Missouri can begin to put this pandemic behind us. Private employers in Missouri have helped lead the push for COVID-19 vaccination in Missouri — a recent Missouri Chamber survey found that 83 percent of Missouri employers are encouraging their staff members to get vaccinated. In some cases, businesses have taken the step to mandate vaccination in order to ensure the safety of their workforce and customers. The Missouri Chamber stands against attempts to place reckless new restrictions on the state’s business community. Employers have long had the ability to mandate vaccinations and the Missouri Chamber believes all employers should continue to have this right when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine. An employer’s ability to mandate vaccination is supported by state law, federal law and the courts. While there are encouraging signs that vaccination is on the rise in Missouri, we need this trend to continue as we work to contain the Delta-variant outbreak. We don’t need new roadblocks to recovery. We continue to strongly encourage Missourians to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves, their communities and our economic recovery.”
The Missouri Chamber is promoting vaccination through the new COVID Stops Here campaign. The effort recognizes employers that achieve widespread vaccination in their workplaces. Missouri employers can visit mocahmber.dreamhosters.com/CovidStopsHere to apply for a designation. Employers with at least 70% of their staff members fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be approved for a designation and will receive materials to help celebrate their vaccination status.
