Microsoft joins list of Seattle-area tech companies requiring COVID-19 vaccine for employees

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for employees, joining the growing list of Seattle-area companies to implement a vaccine requirement.

Amid the current surge of cases in Washington and nationwide, the Redmond-based company also pushed back its reopening date for offices to Oct. 4. The company had originally planned for a full reopening on Sept. 7, although it announced last year that it would move to a hybrid workplace model and allow some workers to telecommute from home permanently.

"As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we continue to closely track new developments and adapt our plans as this situation evolves, keeping employee health and safety top of mind," said a Microsoft spokesperson. "We continue to review the situation on a local basis in each region/country/state where we work and will adjust dates and policies as needed."

Other tech companies in the region have also required employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine before returning to the office. Both Facebook and Google have issued similar policies. Both companies also extended their work-from-home policies until October.

However, Amazon has so far held off on such requirement, for both corporate and warehouse employees. In May, the e-commerce giant dropped its mask mandate for fully vaccinated warehouse employees.

Health care leaders have also mulled such requirements for employees, stressing the those in the health care sector need to "lead by example" by getting inoculated against the virus. Kaiser Permanente announced Monday that it will require the vaccine for all employees and physicians.

In its latest COVID-19 situation report, the Washington State Department of Health estimated that as many as 92% of new infections in Washington could be attributed to the Delta variant. The department said it’s seeing increased infections among people ages 20 to 39 and said hospital admission rates are up among all adult age groups.