Is your business prepared for a Variant of High Consequence?

As vaccines have started rolling out the world we are elated at the prospect of life returning to normal.

In the developed world we are seeing infections and death rates come down. Businesses are reopening and economic activity is bouncing back.

It’s wonderful to believe that the threat of Covid has gone away and we can all get on with life. One thing could get in our way - a variant of high consequence

What’s a Variant of High Consequence?

You can see a good technical answer from the CDC here. In short we are talking about a strain of the virus that is:

• Harder to detect.
• More lethal.
• Less likely to respond to current best practice treatments.
• Not as affected by the current vaccines.

What’re the chances of a variant of high consequence appearing

The more the virus spreads, the more chances it has to mutate into something nastier. 

The more people who get vaccinated the less Covid can spread. There are two things holding us back

1. Lack of availability of vaccines, and 

2. Out of control transmission in the developing world

We have all seen the tragedy unfolding in places like Brazil and right now India. 

This is causing newariants to develop, for example a new variant of concern has been discovered in India.

It’s already believed to be traveling the world. The research will tell us soon if this variant deserves the status of a “Variant of High Consequence”.

People in the developed world choosing not to vaccinate

For a variety of reasons, many Americans don’t want to get vaccinated at all, or at least soon. 

This creates an environment where Covid can roam and mutate.

What business can do 

First of all, vaccination is the best chance we all have of stamping out the virus. There are however differing opinions on the ethical and legal point of view in insisting that employees get vaccinated. 

It is our view that it’s in society's interest and your business interest to encourage employees to get vaccinated. 

Tactics could include:

• Internal advertising campaigns
• Giving people time off to get vaccinated
• Paying for transport to vaccinations sites
• Arranging on-premises jabs.

The next best thing you can do is have systems in place to allow you to contact trace and isolate employees when they do get sick. 

A virus that is at higher risk to your employees could spread in your workplace. Isolating infected employees gives you a better chance of keeping your doors open and keeping others safe at the same time.

That’s where SaferMe comes in.