CNN dismisses staff without Covid-19 vaccinations

News network CNN has dismissed three employees who came into work unvaccinated against Covid-19.

In a memo sent to staff yesterday (5 August), Jeff Zucker, chairman of news and sports for parent company WarnerMedia, reminded employees about the company’s vaccination policy, which requires staff to be jabbed if they attend the office or come into contact with other employees in the field.

Zucker said: “In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated. Let me be clear – we have a zero-tolerance policy on this.”

Extracts from the memo were tweeted by CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy, but the full memo was obtained and reported on by the Associated Press.

Jeff Zucker adds in his memo to CNN staff: "In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated. Let me be clear — we have a zero-tolerance policy on this."

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 5, 2021

The memo also revealed that the company had pushed back its return-to-office date from September to mid-October. Most of CNN’s offices are open for people to work from should they wish and more than a third of staff have returned.

Despite operating a mandatory vaccination policy, employees do not need to prove they have had the jab. Zucker’s memo indicated it might change this approach in the coming weeks.

Covid-19 cases have been growing rapidly in the United States. On 5 August the country reported 127,108 new positive tests, up from around 4,500 a month earlier.

This has prompted many organisations to introduce policies requiring staff to be vaccinated before returning to the office, including Google, Facebook and Uber.

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This week, global investment firm Vanguard announced that it would offer US staff a $1,000 bonus to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Employees will need to prove they have been jabbed by October in order to qualify.

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