Chambers Ireland renews call for flexibility from employers to support staff vaccination

With all adults now eligible for vaccination, Chambers Ireland today (23 July 2021) renews its call for employers to be flexible in accommodating the vaccination of their staff so that the immunisation programme can proceed as fast and smoothly as possible.

This is particularly important as we are in a race between vaccination and a Delta-driven wave of infection that is spreading quickly through our younger unvaccinated population.

Chambers Ireland Chief Executive, Ian Talbot said:

“The positive impact of vaccination is clear and has been crucial in allowing society and the economy to reopen further. However, this progress remains fragile until case numbers return to low figures.  The least disruptive way to achieve that is through vaccination.

“Young adults are the least protected members of our population at present. Workers in this age group can often find themselves in customer-facing and shift-based roles which may discourage them from taking their earliest available vaccine appointment. To avoid any hesitation, we encourage all businesses to clearly communicate that you will accommodate their vaccination.”

“We can see in other jurisdictions how widespread infection can negatively impact business – even in those with highly-vaccinated populations. Given the rapid increase in cases here over recent weeks, we must all redouble our efforts to avoid such a scenario developing in Ireland.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact Jonathan Baxter, communications and media executive at Chambers Ireland on 086 608 1605 or jonathan.baxter@chambers.ie.

Notes to Editors

Chambers Ireland has previously partnered with UNICEF Ireland in seeking more coordination at a governmental level to deliver an equitable global vaccine rollout. It followed research from the International Chamber of Commerce which found a potential cost of €7.6 trillion to the global economy if developing countries are not provided with adequate access to COVID-19 vaccines.

About Chambers Ireland

Chambers Ireland is Ireland’s largest business network, with 41 member Chambers across every major city, town and region of the island. Aligning our strategic priorities with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, our aim is to make places better to live, work and do business.

Chambers Ireland is also a member of the International Chamber of Commerce, branded locally as ICC Ireland. The International Chamber of Commerce is the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries with a mission to make business work for everyone, every day, everywhere.

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