Editorial: How To Write a Better COVID-19 Standard
Judging from the dismay that apparently helped convince the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to change its guidelines for employer-required COVID-19 vaccines—unlike the original guidelines, the latest revision won’t require employers to record adverse reactions in OSHA logs—the industry should keep a sharp eye out for what’s still to come from the agency. A planned new COVID-19 safety standard may cause even more vexing complications. The Associated General Contractors and other groups ask that OSHA “align its protocols” with those issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The often-revised CDC guidelines have generated a fair amount of confusion as understanding evolves of virus transmission and the effects of vaccines. Keeping OSHA and CDC on the same page benefits everyone.
But COVID-19-related record-keeping issues still may turn out to be critical. A coalition of employers, through a comment paper prepared by the group’s attorney, has asked for a separate record for virus-related events and illnesses. In other words, OSHA would exempt COVID-19 from OSHA Standard 1904: Injury and Illness Recordkeeping, and place virus entries in a different history or list.