In order for the coronavirus pandemic to come to an end next year, 75-85 percent of people in the US need to be vaccinated. That's according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the President. However, Mark Zuckerberg has told his employees that the vaccine won't be necessary for them to return to work.
As The Daily Beast reports, Zuckerberg stated vaccines wouldn't be mandatory for returning to work at the office during an all-hands meeting. Facebook employs over 52,000 people currently, and is allowing them to continue working remotely until July 2021 if they so wish.
It's not clear why Zuckerberg is happy for staff to return to work still susceptible to COVID-19, especially considering what Dr. Fauci said and how quickly the virus spreads. Facebook has since released a statement to The Daily Beast clarifying the company's position:
"Our U.S. offices remain closed and we don’t expect them to open before the COVID-19 vaccines are widely available. At today’s company Q&A, Mark said that at this point, we don’t think it will be necessary to require a vaccine for employees to return to work," the spokesperson said. "He also said he’s confident in the vaccine and looks forward to getting one himself. Once we return to the office, we will have a number of protocols in place that we expect to include testing, social distancing, wearing masks and other best practices. We continue to work with many experts to define a plan that prioritizes everyone’s health and safety."