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May 15, 2021 - Health

Delta to require all new employees be vaccinated

Oriana González
Picture of a Delta employee behind a counter wearing a mask

Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said in a CNN interview that all new hires will be required to be vaccinated for the coronavirus.

Why it matters: The decision makes Delta the first major U.S. airline to require vaccines. The company said that more than 60% of its employees are vaccinated and it wants "to help maintain this trajectory."

  • Yes, but: Delta added it will not implement a mandate requiring current workers to be inoculated.

What they're saying: "Any person joining Delta in the future, we are going to mandate to be vaccinated before they can sign up with the company," Bastian told CNN on Thursday.

  • "You probably will not be able to fly an international flight if you are not vaccinated because it's going to be mandated by local authorities in order to get in the country that you're vaccinated," he added.
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