Moderna mandates COVID-19 vaccination for U.S. employees

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

(Reuters) -Moderna Inc said on Friday it will require COVID-19 vaccination for all its employees in the United States from October.

Rival coronavirus vaccine maker Pfizer Inc had earlier this month had mandated its U.S. employees and contractors to become vaccinated against COVID-19 or participate in a weekly COVID-19 testing.

Other U.S. companies such as Alphabet Inc and Walt Disney Co have also announced similar requirements for staff in light of surging infections in the country due to the spread of the Delta variant.

Moderna, maker of one of the three authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, said it would make religious or medical exemptions on an individual basis.

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)