Facebook to require vaccinations for employees returning to its U.S. offices

Big tech is finally taking a stance on vaccinations.

On Wednesday, Facebook said it would require employees to receive Covid-19 vaccinations before returning to work in U.S. Facebook offices. This is a reversal from its December 2020 policies which would encourage, but not require, Covid-19 vaccines for in-office work.

“As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our US campuses to be vaccinated," Lori Goler, Facebook's vice president of people, said in an emailed statement sent to Mashable. "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.”

On Wednesday, Google announced that it would require vaccinations for "anyone coming to work on Google campuses." Previously, Twitter was the only big tech company to require vaccines for employees working on-site.

Now, changes are coming as the Delta variant causes Covid spikes across the country. City employees of New York and Los Angeles now have a vaccine mandate, as do California state and health employees. At the federal level, frontline health workers for the Veterans Affairs agency also must get vaccinated within two months, and the Biden administration is reportedly considering

This story is developing...