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US Oil Majors Impose COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Workers
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The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to society. Although coronavirus cases started to decline, the fast-spreading Delta variant placed the pandemic front and center again.
In order to prevent the resurgence of the pandemic, oil and gas companies in the United States now require their employees to receive vaccinations as an employment condition. The fast-spreading Delta variant, which is a highly contagious strain of COVID-19, is claimed to have played a significant part in the decision.
The vaccine mandates for employees working at proximity came as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. For the past few months, the shot was distributed in the United States under emergency authorization from the FDA. Some workers were reluctant to get vaccinated as it was yet to receive full approval. Notably, health surveys show that energy workers remain among those most reluctant to get vaccinated.
The vaccines available in the United States have been found to be highly effective in preventing critical COVID-19 cases. Although vaccine mandates are becoming more popular, corporations are delaying physical reopening. Companies like Chevron Corporation (CVX - Free Report) , Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) delayed office reopening due to the upturn of coronavirus cases.
Chevron will require new hires and certain field workers to be fully vaccinated before their first day of work. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) oil giant's mandate will cover offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico, some onshore support staff, expatriates and employees, who travel internationally.
Earlier this month, refiner Valero Energy Corporation (VLO - Free Report) imposed a blanket vaccine requirement as a recruitment condition for new workers at its Louisiana and Texas facilities. Additionally, oil companies such as Schlumberger (SLB - Free Report) and Hess Corporation (HES - Free Report) require contractor personnel to be both vaccinated and tested before arriving at rig sites. Meanwhile, shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources Company will reportedly require new hires to get vaccinated against the virus.
Energy companies have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 outbreaks as it weakened oil demand, resulting in plummeting oil prices and production declines. About a year ago, there were nearly 400 individuals infected with the virus working offshore Louisiana and Texas. Hence, major energy companies are mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, a move that impacts thousands of onshore and offshore oil and gas workers of Louisiana.
Meanwhile, companies, with no vaccine mandates, have enhanced other safety measures. Oil majors like Exxon, Equinor, Occidental Petroleum and Shell have not announced any vaccine mandates. Shell, the most prolific operator in the Gulf of Mexico, requires workers and contractors to undergo medical screening and a negative test within 48 hours of departure.
Overall, it seems that a growing number of energy operators are requiring workers to get the vaccination. The trend is only expected to grow stronger, following the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine.
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US Oil Majors Impose COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Workers
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to society. Although coronavirus cases started to decline, the fast-spreading Delta variant placed the pandemic front and center again.
In order to prevent the resurgence of the pandemic, oil and gas companies in the United States now require their employees to receive vaccinations as an employment condition. The fast-spreading Delta variant, which is a highly contagious strain of COVID-19, is claimed to have played a significant part in the decision.
The vaccine mandates for employees working at proximity came as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. For the past few months, the shot was distributed in the United States under emergency authorization from the FDA. Some workers were reluctant to get vaccinated as it was yet to receive full approval. Notably, health surveys show that energy workers remain among those most reluctant to get vaccinated.
The vaccines available in the United States have been found to be highly effective in preventing critical COVID-19 cases. Although vaccine mandates are becoming more popular, corporations are delaying physical reopening. Companies like Chevron Corporation (CVX - Free Report) , Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) delayed office reopening due to the upturn of coronavirus cases.
Chevron will require new hires and certain field workers to be fully vaccinated before their first day of work. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) oil giant's mandate will cover offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico, some onshore support staff, expatriates and employees, who travel internationally.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Earlier this month, refiner Valero Energy Corporation (VLO - Free Report) imposed a blanket vaccine requirement as a recruitment condition for new workers at its Louisiana and Texas facilities. Additionally, oil companies such as Schlumberger (SLB - Free Report) and Hess Corporation (HES - Free Report) require contractor personnel to be both vaccinated and tested before arriving at rig sites. Meanwhile, shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources Company will reportedly require new hires to get vaccinated against the virus.
Energy companies have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 outbreaks as it weakened oil demand, resulting in plummeting oil prices and production declines. About a year ago, there were nearly 400 individuals infected with the virus working offshore Louisiana and Texas. Hence, major energy companies are mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, a move that impacts thousands of onshore and offshore oil and gas workers of Louisiana.
Meanwhile, companies, with no vaccine mandates, have enhanced other safety measures. Oil majors like Exxon, Equinor, Occidental Petroleum and Shell have not announced any vaccine mandates. Shell, the most prolific operator in the Gulf of Mexico, requires workers and contractors to undergo medical screening and a negative test within 48 hours of departure.
Overall, it seems that a growing number of energy operators are requiring workers to get the vaccination. The trend is only expected to grow stronger, following the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine.