Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup to offer employees paid time off for vaccine appointments

Wells Fargo will offer up to eight hours of paid time off beginning March 8 to encourage all eligible global employees to get COVID-19 vaccines.

WELLS FARGO INVESTS IN SIX BLACK-OWNED BANKS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

“While we understand that choosing to be vaccinated is a personal decision, we encourage you to consider getting the vaccine when it’s available to you,” the bank's head of human resources David Galloreese wrote in a memo to employees.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
WFC	WELLS FARGO & CO.	75.28	-0.89	-1.17%

In addition, Wells Fargo will expand its COVID-19 testing program, offering free, on-site tests to workers at the bank's 25 largest locations.Employees who currently report to work in other Wells Fargo facilities, including its branch network, can request on-demand tests that can be self administered at home.

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The fourth largest U.S. bank joins competitors JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
JPM	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	246.25	-3.47	-1.39%
BAC	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	47.04	-0.47	-0.99%
C	CITIGROUP INC.	71.39	+0.52	+0.73%

Representatives for Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase told FOX Business that eligible employees will receive up to eight hours of paid time off to accomodate the vaccine appointments. Meanwhile, Citigroup told FOX Business in a statement that it will provide "whatever paid time away from work is reasonably necessary to travel to and get the vaccine."

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AZO	AUTOZONE INC.	3,169.54	-20.56	-0.64%
BBY	BEST BUY CO. INC.	90.00	+1.83	+2.08%
DRI	DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC.	176.27	+1.29	+0.74%
DG	DOLLAR GENERAL CORP.	77.27	+1.01	+1.32%
KR	THE KROGER CO.	61.08	+0.58	+0.96%
MCD	MCDONALD'S CORP.	296.01	+0.93	+0.32%
TSN	TYSON FOODS INC.	64.50	+0.55	+0.86%
TGT	TARGET CORP.	132.31	+2.22	+1.71%

Other companies that have offered similiar pay incentives for employees who receive COVID-19 vaccines include Aldi's, Amtrak, AutoZone, Best Buy, Chobani, Darden Restaurants, Dollar General, Instacart, Trader Joe's, Kroger, Lidl, Publix, McDonald's, Tyson Foods and Target.

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Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, developed by its pharmaecutical subsidiary Janssen, recently became the third to receive an emergency use authorization from the Food & Drug Administration and approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unlike previously approved vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna, the Janssen vaccine requires a single shot.

Johnson & Johnson began shipping their initial supply of 3.9 million doses to state health departments, pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and community vaccination centers across the country this week. The company expects to deliver enough single-shot vaccines by the end of March to vaccinate more than 20 million Americans, and 100 million single-shot vaccines during the first half of 2021.

An analysis by the FDA found that Johnson & Johnson's vaccine was about 67% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases within 14 days after dosing and 66% effective against severe to critical cases after 28 days. In addition, the vaccine was approximately 77% effective in preventing severe or critical COVID-19 occurring at least 14 days after vaccination and 85% effective in preventing severe or critical COVID-19 occurring at least 28 days after vaccination.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
JNJ	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	154.80	-0.21	-0.14%
PFE	PFIZER INC.	25.82	-0.39	-1.49%
BNTX	BIONTECH SE	117.20	-1.19	-1.01%
MRNA	MODERNA INC.	44.26	+1.20	+2.79%

Meanwhile, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 95% and 94.1% effective, respectively.

According to the CDC, over 82.5 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the Unite States as of Thursday.