There are a vast number of Americans who have made the personal medical decision to forego receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, and they have plenty of reasons for choosing to do so.
Some are wary of the speed at which the inoculations were created and tested, while others are protesting attempts by the government to pressure them into compliance. Others still are simply not a fan of putting anything into their bodies that is not natural, period.
But now, those who’ve made that choice are facing segregation and discrimination in alarming new ways, including by one of the nation’s most prominent grocery chains.
Kroger, the country’s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers as big employers attempt to compel more of their workforce to become vaccinated with cases of COVID-19 again rising.
Unvaccinated workers will no longer be eligible to receive up to two weeks paid emergency leave if they become infected, a company spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. That policy was put into place last year when vaccines were unavailable.
And that’s not all:
The company said it will also begin charging a $50 monthly fee to unvaccinated salaried workers and managers who are enrolled in a company health care plan. Unionized workers and non-union hourly workers won’t be charged that fee.
The policy is so radical, in fact, that the federal government has made it clear that they are not pressuring Kroger into enacting the changes, which will go into effect on January 1st, 2022.
