Facebook parent company Meta will require its in-person workers to receive a booster shot in addition to a COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced Monday.
By March 28, Meta employees must have received the booster to use the in-person offices of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, The Wall Street Journal reported. Meta is reportedly delaying the reopening of its offices until late March due to the requirement.
“We’re focused on making sure our employees continue to have choices about where they work given the current Covid-19 landscape,” Janelle Gale, Meta’s vice president of human resources, said in a statement, CNBC reported. “We understand that the continued uncertainty makes this a difficult time to make decisions about where to work, so we’re giving more time to choose what works best for them.”
Employees can elect to work remotely if they receive a deferral from Meta, the WSJ reported.
“Boosters provide increased protection,” a Meta spokesman told the WSJ. “Given the evidence of booster effectiveness, we are expanding our vaccination requirement to include boosters.”
Other tech giants have pushed back their planned office reopenings due to the Omicron coronavirus variant. Google indefinitely pushed back its planned January return to the office, as has Microsoft, while Apple has suspended plans to reopen in early February until a date yet to be determined.
Meta did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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