Tyson Foods Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Tyson Foods Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
A medic prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Netanya, Israel on Jan. 5, 2022. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
Jack Phillips
11/22/2022
Updated:
11/22/2022
0:00

Tyson Foods Inc., one of the largest U.S. food companies, confirmed that last week that it removed its requirement that employees receive COVID-19 vaccines in order to work.

Tyson, considered the largest American meat company by sales, lifted the mandate several weeks ago, one year after imposing it, according to a report Tyson filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. The requirement “generally improved our ability to operate our business effectively in fiscal 2022,” the report said.

A company spokesman, Derek Burleson, confirmed to Reuters that the mandate was scrapped. The company decided to implement its mandate in August 2021.

“The risk of severe infection has decreased significantly, with many resources readily available including vaccines and boosters, testing, and improved treatment options,” Burleson said.

Tyson had “worked to get the unions’ support to end the requirement, which was achieved,” Burleson told the outlet. He added that Tyson kept other safety protocols like requiring workers to self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms.

Tyson runs slaughterhouses in rural areas where some residents refused to get vaccinated. The company said last year it paid employees $200 to get vaccinated and also compensated workers if they were vaccinated outside normal work hours or away from a Tyson location.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 mandates imposed by companies and governments around the world drew condemnation from some civil liberties groups and conservatives, who said that such rules violated individual liberty and human rights.

Government Mandates

The Biden administration last year attempted to impose a mandate on all companies that have 100 or more workers, which was ultimately blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2022.

However, the federal government is still maintaining a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for hospitals and health care facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding, and the U.S. military is still requiring the vaccine for service members across all branches. The Supreme Court in January said that U.S. health officials had the authority to impose the mandate on health care workers.

Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, the White House has kept the health care worker mandate intact. The Biden administration has not elaborated on when it would rescind its vaccine mandates.

Workers leave the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Logansport, Ind., on May 7, 2020. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
Workers leave the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Logansport, Ind., on May 7, 2020. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
On Tuesday, the Biden administration said that it will step up enforcement of nursing homes’ vaccine mandates. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will issue guidance to remind health care providers, according to a White House news release.

“In its guidance, CMS will make clear that nursing homes with low vaccination rates will be referred to state survey agencies for close scrutiny, and that facilities that do not comply with the requirement to offer and educate on the benefit of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccinations will face enforcement actions, including the need to submit corrective action plans to achieve compliance,” said the news release.

But there are cracks appearing in government vaccine mandates. In October, a New York Supreme Court judge struck down a requirement that all New York City government employees get the shot or be terminated from their jobs.
In November, about two dozen attorneys general in Republican-controlled states urged the White House to repeal its COVID-19 mandate for health care workers, arguing that the shots provide little-to-no protection and may cause undesired, long-term side effects.

There is now evidence that “demonstrates that full vaccination doesn’t prevent infection or transmission,” the 22 attorneys general, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, wrote to Health Secretary Xavier Becerra in a Nov. 17 letter.

“The mandate has limited many patients’ access to needed medical care and imposed substantial costs on patients and health care workers without any corresponding benefits. The Biden administration should have never imposed this mandate, and CMS should now throw it in the trash bin where it belongs,” Knudsen, a Republican, said in a statement.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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