Facebook will require its US employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when they return to the office, the company confirmed to The Verge on Wednesday.
“As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our US campuses to be vaccinated,” Facebook’s vice president of people Lori Goler said in a statement. “How we implement this policy will depend on local conditions and regulations. We will have a process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and will be evaluating our approach in other regions as the situation evolves. We continue to work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone’s health and safety.”
Facebook expects to reopen offices in the US fully in October.
COVID-19 rates are increasing across much of the country, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued recommendations on Tuesday saying that vaccinated people should wear masks in public, indoor settings in areas of high transmission. Facebook’s move comes hours after Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced to staff that they would have to be vaccinated when coming into work at its campuses. Pichai also announced that Google is delaying its office opening to October 18th, which is a push from September.
Lyft will also require proof of vaccination for employees returning to offices:
Policy changes are stacking up. Now Lyft will also require proof of vaccination to return to the office, the company confirms to @cfarivar. Uber will allow unvaccinated people to return but they will be required to wear a mask.
— Ezra Kaplan (@EzraNBC) July 28, 2021
Apple has also informed staff of a shift in policies: it will be requiring customers and staff at most of its more than 270 US retail stores to wear masks even if they are vaccinated. Microsoft declined to comment about whether it would require employees returning to offices to be vaccinated.
