Delta Airlines didn’t want employees taking sick time, even if it means flying planes sick.
Many Americans don’t have paid sick time at their work, and are already incentivized to work sick. And then two years ago, amid an ongoing pandemic, the CDC issued medical advice that specifically encourages employers to prevent employees from recovering properly.
Delta Airlines sent a letter to the CDC on December 21, 2021 complaining that the 10 day isolation guidelines were interfering with their operations because of people being off sick too often. Instead of better infection control, stopping the spread among staff, or hiring more staff to cover the “new normal” of everyone getting covid on the job all the time, they instead asked the CDC to reduce the isolation time recommended.
On December 27, 2021, the CDC complied with Delta Airlines request and reduced the guideline for isolation down to 5 days. This is the supposedly scientifically guided medical advice for isolation time, for public health and the wellbeing of citizens. But instead they sided with the corporations.
At the time even conservatives I know scoffed at this and without even knowing about the Delta Airlines letter they knew this was about businesses wanting to push people back to work even while sick. Nobody was fooled. And of course nobody is fooled now by the CDC HICPAC again, siding with the corporations against patients, to make guidelines in HEALTHCARE that will adversely impact patient safety.
I was looking for the CDC notice from December 2021, when I went back to a People’s CDC webpage where I knew it was referenced with a link, which worked when that was posted November 5, 2023. The link to the CDC website no longer works, the page was taken down sometime in the past 2 months. It’s still available on The Internet Archive Wayback Machine, which has not forgotten — along with me, and many Americans who also have not forgotten.
December 21, 2021
Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH Director Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30333
Dear Dr. Walensky:
We are writing on behalf of Delta Air Lines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reconsider the current guideline for 10 days of isolation in fully vaccinated individuals who experience breakthrough COVID-19 infections. This guidance was developed in 2020 when the pandemic was in a different phase without effective vaccines and treatments. At Delta, over 90% of our workforce are fully vaccinated, and those rates are increasing daily. Our employees represent an essential workforce to enable Americans who need to travel domestically and internationally. With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the 10-day isolation for those who are fully vaccinated may significantly impact our workforce and operations. Similar to healthcare, police, fire, and public transportation workforces, the Omicron surge may exacerbate shortages and create significant disruptions. Further, all airline personnel are required to mask at airports and on airplanes. Current data suggest that Omicron is 25–50% more contagious, and likely less virulent and associated with more mild disease particularly among individuals who are fully vaccinated. Further, Omicron is associated with a shorter incubation period and infectious period among the fully vaccinated. To address the potential impact of the current isolation policy safely, we propose a 5-day isolation from symptom onset for those who experience a breakthrough infection. Individuals would be able to end isolation with an appropriate testing protocol. As part of this policy change, we would be interested to partner with CDC and collect empirical data. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the CDC to protect the health and safety of our people, customers and communities as the pandemic evolves.
All our very best,
Carlos del Rio Medical Advisor Delta Air Lines, MD Henry Ting MD SVP and Chief Health Officer Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian Chief Executive Officer Delta Air Lines
https://news.delta.com/sites/default/files/2021-12/delta-letter-to-cdc-december-21-2021.pdf
