Amazon is taking away paid COVID-19 leave for unvaccinated workers

• Amazon sent a memo to staff Thursday introducing changes to its COVID-19 policies.
• Staff who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be eligible for paid leave if they catch it.

Amazon workers who catch COVID-19 and are not fully vaccinated against the virus will not be eligible for paid leave after March 18, according to a staff memo shared with Insider by Amazon.

Thursday's memo also told workers they will no longer have to wear masks inside warehouses from Friday if they have been fully vaccinated and local regulations allow.

"There has been a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases across the country over the past weeks. Along with increasing vaccination rates across the country, this is a positive sign we can return to the path to normal operations," the memo said.

Data from Johns Hopkins University showed this week that cases and hospitalizations have seen a sharp decline, the Journal reported.

Amazon's memo also came after several Democrat-governed US states announced they would be rolling back mask mandates. This is despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continuing to recommend masking indoors in much of the country.

Amazon re-introduced mask mandates inside its warehouses in December following a surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant.

The e-commerce giant told staff in January it was reducing the amount of time workers can take off for COVID-19 from ten to seven days following revised guidance from the CDC.