Delta Air Lines is navigating how to discuss the coronavirus variant, which shares its namesake, without explicitly referring to it.
"Since the earliest days of the pandemic, our number one priority has always been to protect our people and customers," CEO Ed Bastian said in a company-wide memo to employees.
"Over the past few weeks," he continued, "the fight has changed with the rise of the B.1.617.2 variant – a very aggressive form of the virus," refusing to refer to the Delta variant by name.
Delta has shied away from naming the eponym known as a highly contagious, lethal variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Beverage maker and distributor Constellation Brands shared similar concerns about Corona beers when many people primarily referred to the disease as the coronavirus.
Corona, however, said it saw no effect on its overall sales because of the name similarity.
Delta's CEO said around three-fourths of the airline's employees have been vaccinated.
"While we can be proud of our 75% vaccination rate, the aggressiveness of the variant means we need to get many more of our people vaccinated and as close to 100% as possible," Bastian said, declining to say the name Delta.
Unvaccinated airline employees must submit to weekly COVID testing beginning September 12. In November, unvaccinated employees covered by the company's health plan face an additional $200 monthly surcharge to counteract "the financial risk."
"In recent weeks since the rise of the B.1.617.2 variant, all Delta employees who have been hospitalized with COVID were not fully vaccinated," the executive's statement revealed.
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