Most US companies surveyed said they're planning to require employees to get vaccinated by the end of the year

• Willis Towers Watson polled 961 US companies that collectively employ about 9.7 million people.
• Half of the companies surveyed planned to require workers to get a COVID vaccine by the end of 2021.
• Apple, Goldman Sachs, and Uber are requiring that some or all employees get a COVID vaccine.

More than half of US companies plan to require some or all of their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year, found a survey first reported by Reuters.

The survey, which polled 961 US companies that collectively employ about 9.7 million people, found that over 52% of employers plan to have one or more vaccine mandate requirements, Reuters reported.

Among the companies requiring some kind of a vaccine mandate are Google's parent Alphabet and the Goldman Sachs Group.

Willis Towers Watson, which conducted the survey, polled employers between August 18 and 25, Reuters reported.

Many major corporations have announced employee requirements around the COVID-19 vaccine. Delta announced that employees who aren't vaccinated will need to pay $200 more a month for health insurance, and Uber required that corporate workers get a jab before returning to the office.

The Willis Towers Watson survey mirrors a Gallup poll that found that more than half of US workers want their employer to require a COVID vaccine.

Some smaller businesses, such as the home-healthcare agency Best of Care in Massachusetts, have not required COVID vaccines out of fear that it could exacerbate the labor shortage. Though job openings are on the rise, many industries cannot find enough workers - in part because of low wages and the lack of job flexibility.

More than 72% of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Cases of COVID-19 rose sharply in July because of the rise of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible than the original strain.