The newspaper's move was announced by publisher Fred Ryan in a memo to employees released on Tuesday, July 27. The decision was made just as the paper plans to reopen its offices and ask employees, including more than 1,000 journalists, to come to work three days per week starting September.
"In the many conversations I had had with Post employees across all departments, I have heard the genuine concerns they have for themselves and their families with new COVID variants emerging," wrote Ryan. "Accordingly, our plan is to require all Washington Post employees to demonstrate proof of full COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment beginning with our September 13 office return."
Company contractors and guests who want to enter the Washington Post's main office building in downtown Washington, D.C. will also need to prove they are fully vaccinated before they will be allowed to enter.
The company said it will grant exemptions for people with well-documented medical conditions and religious concerns, as is the requirement under federal law. These exemptions will have to be documented with the human resources team and approved by the company.
Ryan said in the memo announcing the mandate that an "overwhelming majority" of Washington Post employees are already fully vaccinated and have shown the company proof of their vaccinations.
"I do not take this decision lightly," said Ryan. "However, in considering the serious health issues and genuine safety concerns of so many Post employees, I believe this plan is the right one."
"I urge you to move quickly to arrange for vaccination," said Ryan in the conclusion of his statement. "Or, if you cannot be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons, please reach out to our HR team."
Washington Post the first major mainstream news company to require vaccines
The Washington Post, owned by the billionaire founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos, joins a growing number of corporations in the United States that are making the vaccination a condition for continued employment. This is despite the fact that the experimental vaccines have caused thousands upon thousands of deaths and serious side effects that have left people mentally and physically disabled. There is no doubt that many Washington Post staffers will also experience serious side effects after getting the vaccines.
It should also be noted that the vaccines have not received the full approval of the Food and Drug Administration. Instead. the vaccines are being administered under emergency use authorization agreements. Full approval is not expected until the end of the year or in early 2022. (Related: Moderna representative ADMITS vaccine is experimental and everyone taking it is part of a clinical trial with unknown consequences.)
The Washington Post is one of the first media companies to mandate vaccinations, along with fellow mainstream news outlet CNN. Other big media corporations have so far only encouraged employees to get vaccinated without outright requiring it.
Many other companies are resisting mandating vaccines, but not because they respect the ability of their employees to make their own choices regarding their health. They are refusing to mandate the vaccines because they are wary of litigation, backlash and, in some instances, the risk of losing important employees.
Some legal experts even believe that vaccine mandates are illegal, especially since they are still experimental.
"We don't believe that any state or government can force these COVID shots, especially because they are still under emergency use authorization," said Matthew Staver, chairman of the conservative and pro-religious liberty legal organization Liberty Counsel.
Learn more about the growing number of corporations that are coercing their employees into getting vaccinated with the threat of unemployment by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news.
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