The omicron variant surge in the United States continues to threat the economy. Amidst the situation, tech giant Apple is making the booster vaccines mandatory for its employees. Hereafter, the employees of the iPhone manufacturer will have to submit a proof of the COVID-19 booster or will be required to undergo tests to enter the stores from February 15, 2022. Details of the development were mentioned on a memo circulated internally.
The memo has mentioned that the decision has been taken due to the declining efficiency of the existing vaccines and the rising threat caused due to the omicron variant of COVID-19. It was added that the booster shot will help to keep the COVID-19 vaccination up to date and protect against severe diseases. People who have not received their vaccination or did not submit a proof of the shots, will have to submit a negative COVID rapid antigen test before they enter the workplace, starting from January 24, 2022.
The employees who are eligible to get their booster shots will get four week time to get their shot. It is still not clear if the testing requirements apply to the corporate and the retail employees. The recent move has been taken as American corporate offices are attempting to return to the offices post the pandemic ‘work from home’ arrangement. Apple along with other companies in the United States have postponed the plans to return to the offices due to the fresh surge of the omicron variant, which is touted to be highly contagious.
Last week, Facebook’s Meta also made it mandatory for its employees to get the booster shots when the US offices are reopened in the month of March, 2022. On the other hand Amazon is offering its US based warehouse workers $40 if they get the booster shots. Search engine giant Google has not made the booster shots mandatory across the company but it requires the employees to get the first two vaccines.
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