Amazon Studios Considers Mandating Vaccination For Certain Cast And Crew
We are still living in these Covid times, and Amazon Studios is considering doing its part to get us the heck out of this pandemic. The production arm of the corporate conglomerate is weighing whether to follow in the footsteps of Netflix by requiring vaccination for certain employees.
No Vaccine, No Acting For You
According to Deadline, the execs at Amazon are talking with all of their U.S.-based projects about mandating Covid vaccinations for actors and crew that come in contact with them.
Amazon has apparently been mulling making vaccines required for this circle of people — called "Zone A" in the biz — for awhile. Given the ongoing spread of COVID-19 among the unvaccinated, this seems like a great step for production companies to take. Having these protocols in place has two benefits. First, it will lessen the spread of a virus that has upended all our lives for the past 18+ months. Secondly, it will also help production companies' bottom line by lessening the chance of outbreaks on set.
Will Other Studios Follow Suit?
Amazon and Netflix likely won't be the only studios to take this step. Last month, Hollywood unions agreed to give producers "the option to implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis."
This means that more production companies will most likely follow suit. Other studios like Universal Studio Group have already followed this protocol for some of their productions. Netflix and Amazon (if they move forward), however, are the two implementing this mandate across the board.
The vaccine requirements will also likely make working on set a bit easier. In the past, Covid protocols required a lot of segregation and separation for good reason. The risk of Covid spreading is astronomically reduced if everyone is vaccinated, however, which means on-set protocols may become less stringent.
That news will certainly be welcome for those currently in production, as I've heard from more than one person how strict protocols have made sets feel disjointed. It will also certainly reduce the number of Covid cases, which is unequivocally a good thing.
Still, there will likely be those who get all up in arms about this, because America. I'm glad the production companies are taking these steps, however. I don't know about you, but I'd love for life to get somewhat back to normal. The way to get there is for more people to get vaccinated. If getting capitalism on board the vaccination train is what it takes to get there, then I'm all for it. Because America.