Fox News Channel now requires employees to self-report their vaccination status, as part of guidelines to keep its workforce safe — even as some of the network’s most popular on-air talent have expressed skepticism and hostility toward U.S. vaccination efforts.
As of Aug. 17, all Fox News employees were required to enter their vaccination status, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott wrote in a memo earlier this week. If staffers don’t provide that information, they’ll be considered unvaccinated and subject to additional requirements, including daily on-site COVID testing, wearing masks in public areas, and social distancing.
Wearing masks remains optional for fully vaccinated Fox News employees, although the network requires employees to wear a mask “in small, confined spaces with limited opportunities for social distancing and where there are multiple employees, including control rooms,” Scott wrote in the memo.
The updated Fox News coronavirus-safety protocols were first reported by AdWeek. They follow measures the network adopted in June, per a directive from parent Fox Corp., which included “Fox Clear Pass,” a vaccine-passport program that lets employees who are vaccinated enter Fox News locations by self-screening process.
In recent months, Fox News personalities have given mixed messages about getting vaccinated against coronavirus. Primetime hosts like Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson have criticized government efforts to get people vaccinated and telling viewers to be wary of efforts to undermine personal freedoms.
At the same time, the right-leaning cable news network has taken a few steps to promote vaccines. In July, Fox News debuted a PSA encouraging viewers to get the COVID-19 vaccine and also launched a Vaccine Finder tool on its homepage.