Employees must be able to disclose jab status by January 10
Starbucks workers based in the United States have been required to get vaccinated in line with the recent order from the Occupational Safety Health Administration. John Culver, Starbucks chief operating officer, told the company's around 220,000 employees in a letter seen by CNN that they will need to get the jabs or submit themselves to weekly COVID-19 testing.
According to Culver, employees must be able to disclose their vaccination status by January 10. The new company mandate is in compliance with the recent instruction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to large companies to get their staff vaccinated or make them get tested weekly by February 9. Culver said in his letter to staff that the new mandate is an "important step" so more partners can get vaccinated and for the transmission of COVID-19 to be stamped out.
"If vaccination rates rise and community spread slows, we will adapt accordingly. But if things get worse, we may have to consider additional measures. For now, my hope is that we will all do our part to protect one another," Culver said as quoted by CNN.
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The new vaccine mandate was imposed as the new Omicron variant makes waves inside the US, pushing daily cases to new record highs. The Starbucks executive called the situation "concerning," saying the jabs are the best option to stop COVID-19 transmission.
"The vaccine is the best option we have, by far, when it comes to staying safe and slowing the spread of COVID-19," he said as quoted by CBS.
Starbucks previously said it is offering two hours of paid time off to employees who are getting their COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots, CNN reported.
