Facebook will not require employees to get COVID-19 vaccine before returning to office

Facebook employees may not need to worry about getting a vaccine as the company will not require its employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine before they can return to the office.

On Thursday, Dec. 14, CEO Mark Zuckerberg informed employees that he does not think it will be needed to require their employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine prior to returning to the office. A Facebook spokeswoman, as reported in CNET, said that there would also be a number of protocols that will be in place. These protocols would include wearing of face masks, social distancing, and testing. She also said that they continue to work with many experts in laying down a plan that will prioritise the safety and health of everyone.

The Daily Beast reported that concerns over the vaccine was asked by one of the employees during an all-hands company meeting. The said unnamed employee reportedly asked how the vaccine will impact their return to work at the office.

Zuckerberg told his more than 50,000 employees that they do not need to get vaccinated before they can work in an in-person setting. Despite this though, he urged the company's employees to maintain social distancing. In addition, he also considers the vaccine to be a positive development. The company is giving its employees the option to be able to work remotely until July 2021.

In September, in an interview with Axion on HBO, Zuckerberg said that the company has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization in order to remove misinformation about a host of health issues. Back then, he revealed that the tech giant did not have a plan on removing posts that are anti-vaccine.

Zuckerberg, a known advocate for free speech, said that if somebody is saying that they are worried about a vaccine, or that they opine that it could cause harm, the Facebook CEO said that from his own perspective, it would be difficult to say that the said person is not allowed to express his sentiment at all.

When the company received backlash, however, it thereafter revealed that it would not allow anti-vax ads to be promoted on its platform anymore. The latest announcement from the company was that they would start removing false claims about the vaccine, especially those that have already been debunked by public health officials.

Facebook employees