Amazon Drops Mask Requirement For Vaccinated Warehouse Workers

Amazon has announced a major change for warehouse workers that offers vaccinated employees a return to normalcy. Starting tomorrow, the company will no longer require fully vaccinated warehouse workers to wear face masks, though they can continue to do so if they wish, of course. The change applies to its US warehouses, and exceptions will be made in places where there are local or state mandates to the contrary.

The change will go live tomorrow, November 2, according to a message Amazon sent its operations employees in the US last week. The notice was viewed by CNBC, which quotes the message as saying, in part, "Vaccines are universally available across the US and vaccination rates continue to rise which enables the ability to return to our previous mask policy."

Amazon confirmed its policy change plan following the message's leak, noting that it will continue using public health guidance and its medical experts as it evaluates its warehouse safety measures. Employees will need to be fully vaccinated to ditch their masks, meaning they've received the final dose of their COVID-19 vaccine and at least two weeks have passed following the final dose.

This is the latest change to Amazon's warehouse mask policy. Earlier this year, the Internet giant allowed its fully vaccinated warehouse workers to stop wearing masks, but then reinstituted the mandate in August as Delta cases surged in many parts of the United States.

Amazon doesn't require its employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Employer mandates have proven controversial in the US, with some companies electing to require vaccinations before workers can return to offices. Other companies, however, have limited the requirement only to workers covered under the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors.