Covid-19 in the United States: three CNN employees dismissed for coming to work unvaccinated

CNN announced Thursday, August 5 to its staff that three employees had been dismissed for violating the health policy of the chain.

Elijah New GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP / Archivos

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CNN announced Thursday, August 5 to its staff that three employees had been dismissed for violating the channel's health policy, who came to work without being vaccinated against Covid-19, according to American media. 

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In an internal memo emailed to staff, leaked to several US media outlets, CNN Chairman Jeff Zucker explained that the channel was told three of its employees showed up at the office unvaccinated last week. .

All three, he said, have been " 

fired 

".

“ 

Let me be clear: we have a zero tolerance policy in this regard, 

” he said in excerpts from the memo tweeted by Oliver Darcy, a CNN reporter.

The memo does not specify the name or the position held by the dismissed employees.

Asked by AFP, CNN did not follow up immediately.

The chain had set up a system based on trust, requiring employees to be vaccinated but without having to provide proof.

But that could change in the future, according to Zucker.

►

 To read also: 

United States: the authorities raise the tone to relaunch vaccination

Federal government authorization

The vaccine is mandatory for anyone working in the field, in contact with other employees or face-to-face in CNN offices, he said in the memo.

In May, the US federal government ruled that employers could legally require staff in the workplace to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Tech giants including

Facebook, Google

and Microsoft have all said their employees could get vaccinated before returning to face-to-face work.

Mr. Zucker also announced that the return to work of his employees, scheduled for September 7, would be postponed to a later date in October.

Currently, about a third of the American editorial staff work face-to-face, on a voluntary basis, he said.

►

To read also

: Covid-19: Google and Facebook make the vaccine compulsory on their premises

(and with

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)

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