UPDATED Coronavirus tracker: HIMSS21 posts update on health, safety plans for August conference

President Biden announced yesterday plans for a tax credit provided to employers offering full pay to employees taking off to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, recover from its potential after-effects or complete certain other COVID-19 prevention actions.

The credit is part of the American Rescue Plan and will be available to employers with fewer than 500 employees, according to the White House. Employers will be able to claim up to $17,110 for 14 weeks of paid leave for each employee who is impacted.

“Providing paid time off for vaccinations is an investment in the safety, productivity and health of an employer’s own workforce and their community,” the administration wrote in a release. “No working person in this country should lose a single dollar from their paycheck to take time to get the shot or recover from it. The paid leave tax credit that President Biden signed into the law in the American Rescue Plan ensures that no small businesses or non-profits will lose a single dollar by providing such paid leave to workers receiving a vaccination.” 

Word of the tax credit came alongside the White House’s announcement of 200 million COVID-19 vaccines administered in the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency.

It also lands as certain areas of the country report slowing demand for inoculation, leading some public health departments to decline new shipments of the vaccines.