Vaccine mandates: How prevalent are they in the workforce?

(NewsNation Now) — AT&T, Google, Walmart and Tyson Foods are just a few of the 21 major companies that now mandate their workers get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Is requiring workers to get vaccinated part of a growing trend or does it only scratch the surface of the American workforce?

According to the latest data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 29% of employers in both large and small businesses require a vaccine of some kind.

According to the data:

• 18% of employees are in favor of a vaccination requirement.
• 48% want no mandate at all.

President Joe Biden has sought to impose a mandate nationally, requiring employees of businesses with 100 or more workers to either get vaccinated or undergo regular testing.

But federal courts have blocked that plan and since last month, support for a federal mandate has dropped 5%, according to the data.

A survey of 543 companies with a combined number of employees of more than 5.2 million showed that 57% of them plan to require the vaccine or already do.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday that all private employers big and small in the city will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 27.

It is the most sweeping vaccine mandate of any state or big city in the U.S.

De Blasio said that the move is aimed at preventing a spike in coronavirus infections during the holiday season, and the mandate is already facing pushback from city businesses.

When New York City’s mandate goes into effect, it will impact 184,000 businesses, which will exponentially increase the number of workers being required to get the shot.