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Amtrak drops vaccine mandate for employees

Holiday Travel Philadelphia
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Amtrak is suspending its employee vaccine mandate days after the company's president said service could be disrupted.

Amtrak was complying with the Biden administration executive order that mandated large companies require their employees to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4.

However, that policy is on hold while it faces court challenges.

According to The New York Times, Amtrak will allow employees to get tested weekly for the virus, which was its previous policy.

Amtrak reports that 97% of its employees have either received a vaccine or are exempt.

The Times reports that Amtrak employees who refuse to comply with the new policy will be placed on unpaid leave.

Many states are facing a surge in cases, and there are fears that the omicron variant will accelerate COVID's rise.

The U.S. marked a grim milestone of 800,000 deaths due to COVID on Tuesday.