Company officials at United Airlines said they could “no longer allow unvaccinated people back into the workplace.” Separately, Qantas confirmed unvaccinated travelers will be banned from flying internationally. Vaccine mandates, digital records, religious exemptions and more are also reported.
The Washington Post:
United Airlines Workers With Covid Vaccine Exemptions Must Take Temporary Leaves
United Airlines employees who receive religious or medical exemptions from the company’s coronavirus vaccine requirement will be required to take temporary leaves of absence starting next month, company officials said Wednesday. “Given the dire statistics … we can no longer allow unvaccinated people back into the workplace until we better understand how they might interact with our customers and their vaccinated co-workers,” Kirk Limacher, United’s vice president of human resources, wrote in a memo to employees. (Aratani, 9/8)
Axios:
COVID: Qantas To Ban Unvaccinated Travelers From International Flights
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce confirmed the Australian airline will ban passengers not vaccinated against COVID-19 from international flights, traveller.com.au first reported Wednesday. Joyce indicated in November he planned for Qantas to require international travelers provide proof of vaccination. He aims to have the mandate in place by December, when the airline plans to resume global operations. All Qantas staff must be vaccinated by March 2022 unless they have a medical exemption. (9/9)
In other news about vaccine mandates —
The Oregonian:
Portland Can’t Make Cops Get COVID-19 Vaccine Despite City Mandate, Mayor Says
Mayor Ted Wheeler said Wednesday that state law prohibits Portland from making police officers get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite a new city mandate that…