After passing the deadline for its Covid-19 vaccine mandate, more than 99 percent of United Airlines' U.S.-based employees have been vaccinated, according to a memo from CEO Scott Kirby and president Brett Hart to United employees.
United announced its vaccine mandate in August with the Sept. 27 deadline later determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. Last week, the carrier reported more than 97 percent of its U.S.-based employees were vaccinated.
"We know for some, that decision [to get vaccinated] was a reluctant one," Kirby and Hart said in the memo. "But there's no doubt in our minds that some of you will have avoided a future hospital stay, or even death, because you got vaccinated."
The Sept. 27 deadline was for employees to get and upload records of their first dose of a vaccine. Employees have until Oct. 31 to be fully vaccinated.
United also is beginning the process of terminating the less than 1 percent of employees who opted not to get vaccinated, according to Kirby and Hart.