Alaska Airlines requiring COVID-19 vaccine for its employees

Alaska Air

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is requiring its employees to be fully vaccinated. 

An executive order issued by the White House requires all employees of federal contractors to be fully vaccinated. 

Officials with the airline company said it plans to comply with that new federal mandate.

Since Alaska Airlines does work for the federal government, the company said it falls under the vaccine mandate, along with other major U.S. airlines. 

This means all of its employees (Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and McGee), including certain contractors and vendors, will be required to be fully vaccinated, or be approved for a reasonable accommodation such as medical conditions or religious beliefs that prevent.

"Since the start of the pandemic, the safety of our employees and guests has always come first. Over the past 18 months we’ve invested in significant resources to educate our employees and encourage everyone to get vaccinated," officials said in a news release. "We remain committed to protecting everyone from the impacts of the COVID-19 virus."

The Biden administration said last week federal contractors must be fully vaccinated no later than Dec. 8. 

Alaska Airlines said they are encouraging its employees to start the vaccination as soon as possible. 

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