Disney Makes BIG Change to Its COVID-19 Policies for TV Shows

By Robin Burks Leave a Comment

The past few years have been challenging for the Walt Disney Company. Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic shut down every Disney Park around the world (with some still closing occasionally due to the pandemic), but it also created a need for certain health and safety policies at the parks (which have changed over the past few years), including Disney World and Disneyland.

Mask Sign

This also affected movies and TV shows, with Disney requiring certain health and safety policies for those working on those productions. Previously, Disney required COVID-19 vaccinations for those on set, but that requirement was recently changed.

According to Variety, in June 2021, Disney announced that all U.S. employees were required to get a COVID-19 vaccination before returning to work. This was part of the Return To Work agreement between unions and producers.

Disney’s health and safety policies in early 2021

Now, though, the situation has changed. According to the L.A. Times, the company has told many of its TV shows that it will no longer require cast and crews to be vaccinated. This comes at a time when COVID-19 hospitalizations have started to wane.

The Santa Clauses TV Show ©Disney

Although Disney has not directly commented on the change, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is an American labor union (SAG-AFTRA) commented in a statement that producers always had the option to choose to impose the vaccination mandate.

National upcoming Treasure TV show ©Disney

However, only about a dozen shows are currently affected, including 9-1-1 on Fox. Other health and safety protocols, such as masking and testing, will remain, and Disney may still require vaccines for certain productions. This also comes after Disney recently dropped the vaccination requirement for Disney Cruise Line.

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We’ll continue to keep an eye on changes being made to Disney’s health and safety policies and keep you updated. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney news.

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How do you think these changes will affect Disney’s TV productions? Let us know in the comments.