Meta employees will need Covid booster jabs to return to office

Meta (formerly Facebook) has said that employees who have received Covid booster jabs will only be allowed to enter office premises when it finally reopens.

Meta has already said that employees in the US would have to be fully vaccinated against Covid when they return to the office, likely from March 28 which is another delayed date for full office reopening as the Omicron-led Covid surge continues.

"They'll also need proof of a booster vaccine," a Meta spokesperson told The Verge late on Monday.

The company had earlier aimed for January to reopen offices but the Omicron variant spoiled the plans.

"Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office. Given the recent health data showing rising Covid cases based on the Delta variant, our teams in the US will not be required to go back to the office until January 2022," a company spokesperson had said.

"We expect this to be the case for some countries outside of the US, as well. We continue to monitor the situation and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritise everyone's safety," the company had added.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country.

Nearly 5 million new cases were reported across the country from January 2 to 8, a record high weekly increase since the onset of the pandemic in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Up to 11,000 new deaths were reported this past week.

Currently the country is averaging nearly 700,000 cases each day, the most significant infection surge to date, CDC data showed.

According to Meta, not all employees will have to return to the office on March 28.

Those who want to come back can defer their return by three to five months, a policy that was first announced in December.

The social networking giant is also allowing staffers to work remotely full time.