WERE GOING TO STEP BACK IN WHEN
ELISE STEFANIK IS SPEAKING.
I WANT TO TURN BACK TO MY PANEL.
MATT SHEA, LETS TALK ABOUT THE
CDC GUIDELINES.
FOR OFFICES, THIS IS VERY GOOD
NEWS.
THEY CAN LIMIT WHO IS IN THE
BUILDING, THEY KNOW WHO THEIR
EMPLOYEES ARE AND CAN ASK
VACCINATION STATUS.
BUT FOR RETAIL ORGANIZATIONS,
BIG BOX STORES, HOW DO THEY
HANDLE THIS?
>> 125E6, I THINK WE SAW FROM
THE BEGINNING GOING BACK THIS
TIME LAST YEAR, MARCH AND APRIL,
SOME OF THE MOST CHALLENGING AND
EARLY DAYS OF FACING THE
PANDEMIC WITH SO MANY
UNANSWERED, UNKNOWN QUESTIONS,
RETAILERS SPENT UP, PROTECTED
THEIR COMMUNITIES AND FRONTLINE
WORKERS AND ASSOCIATES WITH A
WHOLE RANGE OF MEASURES AND THAT
CARRIED ALL THROUGH LAST YEAR.
YOU MAY REMEMBER WE WERE THE
FIRST INDUSTRY GROUP TO COME OUT
LAST JULY IN SUPPORT OF
MANDATORY MASK MANDATES IN
STORED.
WE GOT SOME FAN MAIL ABOUT THAT,
BUT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO
BECAUSE IT WORKED.
THE CDCS GUIDANCE IS SIMPLY
THAT, GUIDANCE.
LOCALITIES, STATES, STORE OWNERS
WILL DO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR
THEM AND THEIR COMMUNITY MEMBERS
AND CUSTOMERS AND THEY WILL
CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE HEALTH
AND SAFETY.
I WILL SAY THERES AN ENORMOUS
AMOUNT OF CONFUSION OUT THERE.
THE MESSAGES HAVE BEEN VERY
MUDDLED FROM THE CDC.
ITS CREATED SOME SKEPTICISM
FROM MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE BEST I THINK WE CAN DO IS
RELY ON STORE OPERATORS AND
RETAILERS TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT
THEYVE DONE, WHICH IS
PRIORITIZE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF
THE PEOPLE IN THOSE STORES AND
THEY WILL DO THAT AS WE GO
FORWARD, TAKING THIS GUIDANCE
INTO CONSIDERATION.
>> MATT, DOES IT GET EVEN HARDER
FOR THEM?
WE KNOW OVER THE LAST FEW
MONTHS, WE HAVE SEEN FRONTLINE
WORKERS IN STORES GET HARASSED,
EVEN GET ASSAULTED WHEN ASKING
SOME CUSTOMERS TO WEAR MASKS.
IF RETAILERS DECIDE THEY STILL
WANT PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS
BECAUSE THEY CANT MONITOR WHOS
BEEN VACCINATED AND THEY WANT TO
PROTECT THOSE WORKERS, HOW MUCH
MORE OF A CHALLENGE ARE THEY
FACING TO GET PEOPLE TO DO THAT?
>> WELL, THERES NO QUESTION
THAT IT PUT FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES
IN REALLY TOUGH SITUATIONS.
WE SAW EXAMPLES OF THAT LAST
YEAR AND WE STILL SEE THAT IN
SOME PLACES.
I THINK BY AND LARGE MOST
AMERICANS HAVE KIND OF GOTTEN
WITH THE PROGRAM, GOTTEN THE
MESSAGE AND WE NORMALIZED THE
IDEA YOU NEED TO WEAR A MASK
WHEN YOU GO INTO SOME OF THESE
BUSINESSES.
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING
TO IGNORE THAT GUIDANCE OR THOSE
REQUIREMENTS, AND THEY STILL DO.
AND SOMETIMES THAT CREATES
CONFLICT.
I THINK WEVE DONE A GOOD JOB
THROUGH OUR FOUNDATION AND OTHER
RESOURCES GIVING GUIDANCE TO
RETAILERS HOW TO DE-ESCALATE
CONFLICT, HOW TO WORK WITH
CUSTOMERS THAT ARE SKEPTICS FOR
SOME REASON.
I THINK AS WE SEE MORE GEMTING
THE
PEOPLE GETTING THE VACCINE, YOU
SEE THE CASE COUNT OF INFECTIONS
GOING DOWN, MORE BUSINESSES
OPENING, OUTDOOR DINING,
AMERICANS ASSUMING NORMAL
PATTERNS.
I THINK WERE GETTING
COMFORTABLE AND HOPEFULLY THAT
WILL ELIMINATE OR SUBSTANTIALLY
REDUCE THESE KIND OF FRICTIONAL
POINTS IN RETAIL LOCATIONS AND
RESTAURANTS.
>> HOW ABOUT OFFICES, ANDREW?
DOES THIS SPEED UP WHEN WE GO
BACK TO THE OFFICE?
>> WHEN WE GO BACK TO THE OFFICE
AND IT ALSO WILL CREATE AN EVEN
MORE COMPLICATED SITUATION AND
IT GETS BACK TO THE WHOLE
QUESTION OF WHETHER YOURE GOING
TO REQUIRE VACCINATION MORE THAN
ANYTHING.
ARE PEOPLE GOING TO WEAR MASKS
INSIDE THE OFFICE?
ARE THEY NOT GOING TO WEAR MASKS
INSIDE THE OFFICE?
TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I THINK
THIS IS GOING TO CREATE EVEN
MORE CONFUSION THAN EVER BEFORE.
AND I THINK YOURE GOING TO HAVE
MORE PEOPLE NOT -- WANTING TO
NOT WEAR A MASK AND SAYING I
DONT HAVE TO WEAR A MASK.
AND THEN THERES THE QUESTION
OF, YOU KNOW, IS THERE GOING TO
BE TESTING?
WHATS THE VACCINATION RATE
GOING TO BE, ET CETERA, ET
CETERA?
I WOULD JUST MAKE ONE POINT,
STEPHANIE, WHICH IS FOR ALL OF
THE COMPANIES IN AMERICA WHO SAY
THEY WANT A BETTER SOCIETY, AND
THEY SAY IT ALL THE TIME, THE
ONE THING THEY ACTUALLY CAN DO
WHICH THEYVE BEEN UNWILLING TO
DO THUS FAR, IS ACTUALLY MANDATE
VACCINATION.
YOU SAW DELTA DO IT FOR NEW
EMPLOYEES AND NEW EMPLOYEES
ONLY.
BUT IT BAFFLES ME TO THIS DAY
GIVEN THE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS
THAT WAS PUMPED OUT DIRECTLY TO
BUSINESSES TO HELP THEM DURING
THE PANDEMIC, THAT THE ONE THING
THEYVE BEEN UNWILLING TO DO
THUS FAR IS HELP THEMSELVES AND
HELP SOCIETY BY MANDATING THE
VACCINE.
OF COURSE, THERE WILL BE
INSTANCES WHERE THAT CONTINUES
TO BE THE CASE, FOR MEDICAL
REASONS, RELIGIOUS REASONS AND
OTHERS, BUT ITS SOMETHING I
THINK THAT HAS TO BE ON THE
TABLE.
>> ANDREW, PUT MEDICAL AND
RELIGIOUS REASONS ASIDE.
BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS WERE
WILLING TO TAKE TRILLIONS OF
DOLLARS IN SUPPORT FROM OUR
GOVERNMENT OVER THE LAST YEAR
AND THE ONLY THING OUR
GOVERNMENT IS ASKING OF THEM IS
TO GET VACCINATED.
IT BAFFLES ME WHY THEY WOULDNT.
JASON, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY GOING
TO BE A HUGE WIN FOR OUR ECONOMY
ON A WEEK WHEN WE CERTAINLY NEED
IT.
AT THIS POINT, DOES THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT NEED TO KEEP PUMPING
MONEY SUPPORT INTO THE SYSTEM?
JUST YESTERDAY I SAW A BILL
PROPOSED, $30 BILLION FOR SMALL
GYMS.
ITS BEEN A REALLY DIFFICULT
YEAR FOR LOTS OF BUSINESSES BUT
WE KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN BILLIONS
AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR
SMALL BUSINESS IN PPP LOANS.
AT THIS POINT CANT THE
GOVERNMENT SAY IM GOING TO STEP
BACK?
WE KNOW DEMAND IS THERE AND
HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS IS UP, WERE
READY TO SPEND?
>> ABSOLUTELY, STEPHANIE.
THE ONLY THING THE GOVERNMENT
NEEDS TO KEEP PUMPING IS
VACCINES INTO PEOPLES ARMS.
THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
FOR THE ECONOMY.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DID HELPED.
$2.8 TRILLION THIS YEAR, THATS
WORKING ITS WAY THROUGH OUR
ECONOMY.
THAT MONEY IS STILL GETTING OUT
THERE.
PEOPLE NEED TO FEEL SAFE ABOUT
USING THAT MONEY.
THEYRE INCREASINGLY FEELING
SAFE, WHICH IS GREAT NEWS.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE
CDC ANNOUNCEMENT AND, YES, IT
WAS BUMPY, ITS GOING TO BE
CONFUSING.
MAYBE COULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED
BETTER.
BUT MOST IMPORTANT IS ITS GOING
TO HELP VACCINATIONS.
ITS GOING TO MAKE IT CLEAR ALL
OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU CAN
DO IF YOURE VACCINATED.
I AGREE WITH ANDREW, I WOULD
LOVE IT IF THIS PUTS PRESSURE ON
MORE BUSINESSES TO REQUIRE
VACCINATION FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES.
WEVE REQUIRED IT FOR OUR
STUDENTS AT HARVARD.
I HOPE WE REQUIRE IT FOR OUR --
MY FELLOW EMPLOYEES AT HARVARD.
AND LOTS AND LOTS OF OTHER
INSTITUTIONS DOING THE SAME
AROUND THE COUNTRY IS HOW WE CAN