Breaking: Amtrak mandates all employees to be fully vaccinated by November 1

Following announcements from several U.S. airlines requiring vaccinations for their staff, Amtrak has implemented a similar policy.

On August 11, Amtrak declared that all new hires must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 1, as outlined in an internal memo obtained by TPG. Furthermore, all employees are required to be fully vaccinated by November 1, or they must submit a negative COVID-19 test result weekly. Proof of vaccination will need to be provided through Amtrak's self-service portal.

In the memo, the U.S. rail company acknowledged that "many employees" have voiced concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We recognize these concerns and urge everyone to speak with a healthcare professional and gather information from credible sources," wrote William Flynn, Amtrak's CEO, in the memo.

This announcement follows the trend of several airlines implementing vaccine mandates for their workforce. United Airlines revealed in early August that it would require all U.S. employees to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination.

Frontier Airlines has stated that all direct employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 1.

In May, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian indicated that the airline would mandate vaccinations for all new hires but did not extend this requirement to existing employees. Conversely, American Airlines has yet to adopt a similar policy.