World’s Biggest Tech Company Makes It Compulsory To Show Vaccination Proof For Entering Office

It’s been more than two years now that humanity is battling with a tiny but mighty virus called the coronavirus. It affected lives and livelihoods. It made an impact on corporates and governments alike. It has directly affected the way we all work and live. It has become part and parcel of our lives like an uninvited guest who won’t live in your house. And now we have adapted ourselves to live with it.

Vaccinations have become an integral part of our fight against the virus. But as the virus keeps on mutating, the existing vaccines are being penetrated by the newer mutations and it has added to existing headaches of organizations all over the world. So now they are also making changes in their SOPs.

Apple pushes employees to get booster shots of the covid-19 vaccine

According to an internal email, Apple Inc has mandated retail and corporate employees to provide proof of a COVID-19 booster shot.

Starting from Jan. 24, unvaccinated employees or those who haven’t submitted proof of vaccination will need negative COVID-19 tests to enter Apple workplaces. The report also said that it was not immediately clear if the testing requirement applies to both corporate and retail employees.

The emergence of new mutations of the virus is giving a strong fight to the vaccinations and this has given rise to the need for booster doses of the vaccines. n “Due to waning efficacy of the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and the emergence of highly transmissible variants such as Omicron, a booster shot is now part of staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccination to protect against severe disease,” the report cited a memo.

Other corporates are also establishing stringent norms

Apart from Apple, many companies in the U.S. have been strengthening their COVID-19 rules.  They have made vaccinations compulsory and are delaying back-to-office plans as the Omicron variant increases infections across the country.

Earlier, Facebook parent Meta Platforms mandated COVID-19 booster shots for all workers returning to offices. The company has also delayed U.S. office reopenings to March 28, from an earlier plan of Jan. 31.

Alphabet Inc’s Google is temporarily mandating weekly COVID-19 tests for people entering its U.S. offices. At the same time, Amazon.com Inc has offered its U.S. warehouse workers $40 to get a booster shot.