Several U.S. Companies Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine: Is Fox News One Them?

The COVID-19 vaccine has gained both support and scrutiny from Americans before and even after it was made available to all people aged 16 and older on April 19, 2021. Since the release of the vaccine, businesses across America, including Tyson Foods and United Airlines, have issued vaccine mandates. Does Fox News have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place?

President Joe Biden is putting forth a maximum effort to get everyone in the U.S. vaccinated. He thinks that this is “the most effective way of curbing the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.” Fox News Media employees might be required to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandates that are being issued.

Like most companies right now, Fox News, owned by Fox News Media, reportedly has its own COVID-19 policy in place. While it isn’t clear whether the company is requiring its employees to get vaccinated, a memo reportedly sent out by Kevin Lord, executive vice president of human resources at Fox Corp., did indicate that employees would be required to get tested daily if they aren't vaccinated.

The memo surfaced in September. In the memo, Lord acknowledged that “more than 90% of full-time employees have been fully vaccinated.” AP News reported that Lord is also requiring Fox News employees to provide evidence of their vaccination status. Lord stated in the memo that anyone who isn't vaccinated will have to take part in COVID-19 testing “each day, not just once a week.”

In President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, there's the discussion about a new rule that requires employers with 100 or more employees to either “ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis” prior to coming to work.

The Department of Labor’s OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is responsible for the development of this rule. OSHA is scheduled to issue an ETS (Emergency Temporary Standard) to ensure that the rule takes immediate effect. The White House estimates that more than 80 million people working for private businesses will be affected by the rule.

Based on Lord’s memo, it appears that Fox News is working toward complying with President Biden’s vaccine mandate.

According to a report issued by the White House on Oct. 7, approximately 25 percent of U.S. businesses, 40 percent of hospitals, and some colleges and universities have already started requiring employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Many companies implementing these mandates are giving employees a choice—get vaccinated or accept the repercussions which might entail being relieved from their duties.

Companies that require some or all of their employees to get vaccinated include Delta Air Lines, Facebook, and Goldman Sachs, according to NBC News. Google is another company that requires employees who will be working on campuses to be vaccinated.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated that the company will be extending its “global voluntary work-from-home policy through October 18, 2021.” While President Biden’s initiative to get everyone in America vaccinated allows for some companies to choose between requiring their employees to become vaccinated or having them tested weekly, many are leaning toward mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.