The Next Wave of COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements?

As the global community continues to manage the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic, countries have taken different approaches to addressing COVID-19 vaccinations. As we have discussed, Italy requires both public- and private-sector employees to possess government-issued health passes (i.e., the Green Pass) that demonstrate proof of (i) vaccination, (ii) a recent negative COVID-19 test result or (iii) recovery from COVID-19 in the six months prior to returning to the workplace. Although this measure stops short of requiring private-sector employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, it represents one of the world’s strictest COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Generally, governments have not enacted or implemented measures that require all private-sector employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. A majority of countries have required, at most, that employees in public-facing roles in certain sectors (e.g., food and beverage establishments, gyms and fitness studios, and border control and COVID-19 frontline workers, as well as the healthcare, childcare and eldercare sectors) receive COVID-19 vaccinations.