Netflix mandates Covid-19 vaccinations on US productions

Netflix has made it mandatory for key cast and crew on its US-based productions to have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

According to reports, the streamer is requiring vaccinations for all personnel working in ‘Zone A’, which means actors and those coming into close contact with them.

The decision comes following the agreement on new return-to-work protocols by Hollywood studios and unions last week, which gave producers the option to implement “mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis.”

There have, however, been calls for stronger measures in Hollywood, with high-profile US actor Sean Penn refusing to return to work on the Starz/Universal Content Productions series Gaslit unless all members of the production receive the Covid-19 vaccination – not just those in ‘Zone A’.

According to Deadline, which first reported the Netflix mandate, the streamer may make very rare exceptions in the case of medical, religious or age reasons – and possibly for some projects that are already in production.