In an important step to protect employees and ensure passengers can rely on the transit service they need, VTA requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by April 29, 2022.

"Employee safety through vaccination has long been a priority for the agency. VTA has a responsibility to protect our employees and the public and help bring an end to this devastating pandemic," said VTA General Manager/CEO Carolyn Gonot.

Health experts overwhelmingly recommend vaccination as the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and greatly reduce the chance of serious illness.

For convenience, employees can access testing and vaccinations at regularly scheduled free on-site clinics at various VTA divisions.

Employees may request an exemption from the policy due to a qualifying medical condition or religious belief. Those requests will be handled by an outside agency. If approved, exempt employees will be required to get tested for COVID-19 every seven days. If the request for exemption is denied, the employee must provide proof of vaccination by April 29, 2022, in order to continue employment with VTA.

After joint advocacy efforts by VTA, its four labor unions, and Santa Clara County Public Health officials, VTA workers were given priority status to receive COVID-vaccines in March of 2021. VTA’s current workforce vaccination rate of approximately 61% is based on voluntary reporting. As the agency collects more accurate information in the coming months, this number is expected to increase significantly.

VTA joins several neighboring transit agencies in implementing this policy, including BART, AC Transit, Caltrain, Muni, SamTrans, SMART, and Golden Gate Transit.