The Conversation (0)
Danielle Sinay
Aug 19, 2021
Some of Fox News’ primetime stars have criticised the Covid-19 “vaccine passports,” with Tucker Carlson, the network’s top-rated host, equating vaccination records to racial segregation, having called public-health measures a “medical Jim Crow.” , Laura Ingraham also claimed the Covid-19 vaccines were “experimental,” calling the Biden administration “vaccine pushers” and advising her viewers to “hide their kids.” That said, the network itself has encouraged viewers to get vaccinated, and host Sean Hannity has implored his followers to “please take Covid seriously.”
While some of their popular personalities condemned mandated vaccination and subsequent passes, the network unveiled their own version of a vaccine passport in June. This instructed employees to report their vaccination status in exchange for a “Fox Clear Pass” that allowed them to go maskless inside, as is customary with CDC protocol.
Fox employees are also obligated to upload their vaccination statuses to a central database, according to a recent memo obtained by AdWeek. The mandated disclosure is “being done for space planning and contract tracing purposes in conjunction with CDC/state/city health and safety guidelines,” according to the document, and all employees were expected to have provided their status by August 17. The memo was shared in full by Tristan Stell, who is a contributor for CNN and MSNBC.
Written by Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott, the memo also said that Fox reinstated its on-site COVID testing program, which will necessitate certain employees to be tested at least once a week — either on Mondays or Thursdays.
Finally, while Fox’s New York offices will technically remain “mask optional,” its employees are now required to “wear a mask in small, confined spaces with limited opportunities for social distancing and where there are multiple employees, including control rooms.”
According to CNN, Fox employees who report their vaccination status are permitted to bypass a daily health screening. “Thank you for providing FOX with your vaccination information,” an email to a self-reported employee said. “You no longer are required to complete your daily health screening through WorkCare/WorkMatters.”
When contacted for comment, a Fox spokesperson pointed out the network’s pro-vaccine initiatives, like the Fox covid vaccine finder, PSAs and a primetime town hall event they hosted in February.