‘We are a county of small businesses.’ Miami-Dade launches vaccine initiative for workers
Miami-Dade County has partnered with the Health Foundation of South Florida and more than 20 chambers of commerce to launch a new initiative to encourage vaccinations among small businesses.
The voluntary pledge program, “We Did It,” is calling on businesses to help keep their workers and customers safe and reignite South Florida’s economy by encouraging employee vaccinations.
“A sustained post-pandemic recovery depends on our small businesses being safe, stabilized, and reignited,” said Loreen Chant, president and CEO of the Health Foundation of South Florida.
Chant spoke Thursday afternoon during a news conference at Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen in Wynwood. Other speakers included Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and leaders of several South Florida business groups, including the Coalition of Miami-Dade Chambers of Commerce, the Beacon Council and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Business owners who want to take the pledge can visit WeDidItSFL.com for a one-stop shop of resources that provides tips and talking points on how to discuss COVID-19 vaccines with employees and a list of incentives that can be used to motivate workers, such as offering bonuses and paid time off.
The website also has downloadable signs, stickers, web badges, posters and other marketing materials businesses can use to show customers that they’ve taken the pledge.
Thursday’s announcement comes on the same day that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he plans to call a special Legislative session to ban employee vaccine mandates in the state. Florida’s vaccine passport ban prohibits businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination, but still lets private employers mandate worker vaccinations.
DeSantis has also vowed to sue the Biden administration over the mandate it’s planning to issue requiring employers with more than 100 workers to require vaccinations or weekly testing.
The federal mandate wouldn’t affect most Miami-Dade County businesses, though some South Florida businesses already have an employee vaccine mandate in place, including a luxury condo in South Beach, several hospitals, restaurants and a few private universities.
Small businesses hit hard
“We are a county of small businesses. We know that the federal mandate is going to address businesses with over 100 employees. That’s only about 3% of the total businesses in the county,” Levine Cava said.
About 97% of businesses in Miami-Dade have fewer than 100 employees, with the vast majority having less than five workers, despite employing more than 70% of the county’s workforce, according to a news release.
The mayor said Miami-Dade County has come a long way since the delta surge, with the county’s percent positivity of new COVID-19 cases now at about 2%, the lowest in the state. About 86.3% of eligible people in the county are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She’s hoping the “We Did It” pledge will help lead the county out of the pandemic. Business and tourism officials are also hoping the initiative will help attract more customers and improve the financial situation for small businesses, which were hit hard during the pandemic.
About 67% of small businesses in Miami-Dade were “severely negatively impacted” at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means half of them had to lay off half their staff or more, with 12% closing indefinitely, said Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Alfred Sanchez.
“Fast forward to today and we still have 33% of the businesses that are still negatively impacted and 41% that still haven’t gone fully back to the office. So it’s time for us to get this disease behind us and get fully opened in our economy,” Sanchez said.
Other speakers included Coalition of Miami-Dade Chambers of Commerce Co-chair Mark Trowbridge, Beacon Council President and CEO Michael Finney, Greater Miami Convention Visitors Bureau Vice President Gisela Mart and Melissa Dunn of Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen in Wynwood.
