Triad, the entity that operates LANL, announced Monday, Aug. 23 that it would be making full COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for its entire workforce, adding that this requirement would apply to employees working on-site, those teleworking and all new hires.

LANL Director Thom Mason announced the intended vaccine requirement in an Aug. 23 memo to the Laboratory’s workforce. The announcement coincided with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to grant full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older.

“To meet our Laboratory’s critical mission requirements amid rising COVID-19 case rates in northern New Mexico and beyond, we must protect the entire workforce from the spread of this potentially severe disease. The best tool we have is vaccines,” Mason wrote in the memo. “With the recent announcement of full Food and Drug Administration approval for the Pfizer vaccine, along with the rapidly increasing number of infections, LANL has decided to make vaccines mandatory for all regular employees and on-site contractors and on-site subcontractors. This requirement will apply to all employees working on-site, those teleworking, and all new hires.”

At the time of the announcement, more than 85 percent of the Laboratory’s employees and contractors were fully vaccinated. 

Beginning Oct. 15, all employees, contractors and subcontractors who do not have a full vaccination card on file with the Laboratory’s Occupational Medicine Office will be referred to line management who will work with Human Resources for determination of whether employment will continue.

Vaccines are available to all employees and contractors through the Laboratory’s Occupational Medicine Office. Face coverings are still required for all  LANL employees and visitors on-site, and mandatory COVID-19 testing of unvaccinated employees will continue.