Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we’ve been waiting for a vaccine. Companies raced to create and test a safe and effective vaccine, and now, the first approved vaccine, which was created by Pfizer, is being rolled out.

Health care workers were among the first citizens eligible to receive the new COVID-19 vaccine, and senior citizens are next.  So far 9.3 million Americans have been vaccinated, but that’s less than 3% of the population. It will take awhile for enough citizens to be vaccinated for the pandemic to end.

In an effort to encourage the general public that the new vaccine is safe, multiple people have gotten vaccinated on camera, including the very first person who received the vaccine in the United States as well as President-Elect Joe Biden.

Dollar General has another way to encourage its employees to get vaccinated. The store has pledged that it will pay any of its employees who gets vaccinated the equivalent of 4 hours of work. The company has 16,720 stores and over 157,000 employees.

According to experts, employers can require employees to get vaccinated. For example, some employers currently require employees to get the flu shot. They could easily require the COVID-19 vaccine as well. However, in order to avoid extra paperwork, pushback, and possible lawsuits, many employers will likely choose to encourage vaccination without making it a requirement.

It wouldn’t be surprising if other companies copy Dollar General’s idea. Being paid to get vaccinated would probably encourage a lot of people to get vaccinated who otherwise might be hesitant.

Even though people are lining up to get vaccinated throughout the country, the coronavirus is still taking more lives. According to Johns Hopkins, there have been over 380,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States, and on Tuesday January 12, 2021, there were 4,327 more deaths. There are on average approximately a quarter of a million new coronavirus cases reported in the United States each day.

In order to make it as easy as possible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, locations such as stadiums have opened up drive-thru vaccination options where eligible citizens can get the shot while remaining in their vehicle.

Are you planning to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you? Would you be more likely to get vaccinated if your employer paid you extra if you got the vaccine? Do you think employers should require employees to get vaccinated? Does it surprise you that Dollar General is going to pay its employees to get vaccinated?