Walmart says vaccinated workers no longer have to wear masks in most states.

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

Walmart said on Friday that fully vaccinated employees would no longer have to wear masks unless state or local rules required it. The change is effective immediately, the giant retailer said in a memo to its staff.

Unvaccinated employees must continue to wear masks in its stores and offices until further notice, the memo said.

Walmart said it had made the decision after closely monitoring Covid trends across the country. It came at the end of a week in which Democratic governors from Connecticut to California began to lift statewide masking policies as coronavirus cases fueled by the Omicron variant were dropping precipitously, and it is in line with similar announcements from other companies. Amazon said on Thursday that vaccinated employees in warehouses in states that had dropped mask mandates could opt out of wearing masks as well.

Walmart, which has about 1.6 million employees in the United States alone, was among the first private employers at the start of the pandemic to mandate that its workers wear masks. The company eased the mask requirement for vaccinated workers and shoppers for several months in the spring before reimposing it yet again for some workers when the Delta variant posed a significant threat. Then, in December as new cases driven by Omicron began to surge, the company again required masks for all workers.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/world/walmart-mask-mandate-for-vaccinated-workers.html

[Runningdawg]

1. I don't think it will make much difference in some states, like OK.

I don't shop at Walmart but my library shares a parking lot with them. I have never see a single person that worked there who had both their mouth AND nose covered and they damn sure weren't stopping unmasked shoppers at the door. The local conveince store chain hired security guards for their largest locations. Who stood unmasked, in front of a sign that said you must wear a mask to enter, opening the door for people not wearing masks.
Don't forget Tulsa is where preachers spit on people and rub it in.

[Farmer-Rick]

2. Well it seems that with Omicron COVID

You have a very small chance – less than 0.01% – that you could get a case of breakthrough COVID-19 even though you’re vaccinated.

https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/masks-and-covid-19-the-inside-scoop/

But the CDC recommends you wear a mask if Covid is spreading in your community. If you live in an area that has substantial or high COVID-19 transmission rates, which nation wide it is still considered high, you need to wear a mask. You should wear a mask when:

Indoors – Anytime you’re indoors in a public space.
Traveling – When using public transportation.
Outdoors – In general, you don’t need to wear a mask outdoors. But you may consider wearing a mask if you’re going to a crowded outdoor event, especially when you’re around others who haven’t been vaccinated. Wearing a mask even when outdoors can be an especially good idea if you live with people who are immunocompromised or haven’t gotten the vaccine – for example, young children who aren’t yet eligible.

So they are throwing it back on the individual and washing their hands of it so to speak. So...... it's all your fault if you catch COVID while working at Walmart......thanks Waltons