On Monday, November 9, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that early results indicate their COVID-19 vaccine will be more than 90 percent effective.
Moderna soon followed with an announcement that early results show its COVID-19 vaccine to be 94.5 percent effective.
That’s great news. It not only means that it is possible to vaccinate against COVID-19, but also that we may soon have a vaccine with an unusually high efficacy rate. (Unlike the flu vaccine, which is typically between 40 to 60 percent effective in a given year.) Vaccine distribution could begin much sooner than previously thought if both vaccines receive emergency use authorization from the FDA.
For much of the past year, businesses have been forced to deal with unprecedented levels of uncertainty in their day-to-day operations. But a highly-effective vaccine makes it possible to start planning for the future — provided you can do so in a way that allows you to pivot if circumstances change.
The solution? A rolling return, in which your business goes back to the office in phases. This approach enables you to meet the needs of your employees right now — if they’re looking to remain home, come back full-time, or split the difference — and in the future, as they move from one category to the next. You ramp up your office space and its usage over time instead of committing to a workplace long-term that can fit your full team before everyone’s ready to return. That way, you can stay flexible, while still giving employees the space and the tools they need to be productive, work as a team, and come up with creative ideas.
To learn more, check out Industrious latest guide: Rolling Return: How a COVID-19 Vaccine Could Affect Your Back-to-Office Plans. Inside, you’ll find an overview of what we know about a COVID-19 vaccine and how having one could affect your business, as well as a more detailed look at what a rolling return is and how to design one that suits your business needs.