COVID-19 Agreement To End For Hollywood

The pandemic was a dark time for Hollywood. Delays in projects became a very casual thing for many production units as members would sometime repeatedly get diagnosed. As a result, Hollywood put in place COVID-19-related agreements that kept the crew and cast safely. The agreement was between various top studios as well as the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers. Woody Harrelson was among some of the actors who were really unhappy with the vaccine and mask mandates. He got candid about his outrage in an interview:

“I don’t think that anybody should have the right to demand that you’re forced to do the testing, forced to wear the mask, and forced to get vaccinated three years on,” the actor had said in an interview. “I’m just like, let’s be done with this nonsense.”

End Of Pandemic Era 

The agreement is all set to end on the 11th of May for the AMPTP(Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers) and the 12th of May in general. The president of SAG-AFTRA, Fran Drescher, has also been publicly furious about the protection mandates.

“I think that when it comes to what we do with our bodies, that should be a personal choice,” said Drescher at the time. The agreement ensured that actors and other members of the crew that worked closely with actors would also be vaccinated and wear masks at all times. 

Industry sources believe that the safety precautions are no longer necessary now that the outbreak is over. There’s no doubt that the problems made many individuals, particularly performers, uncomfortable with their creative processes. Many are extremely relieved by the news, especially those who were furious about the mandates earlier.

Union Rules

Famous celebrities can afford excellent healthcare in America, which is miraculous in and of itself. If you are sick, why wear a mask when you can get treated in a day? The coalition union that made the announcement about the contract’s expiration didn’t agree.

“For the past three years, workers throughout the entertainment community have benefited from our robust protections exceeding the practices of many other industries.” Clearly, the union put the protocols in place for a big and important reason. Thankfully, some people really get it. Now, the agreement has outlived the reason and needs to end.

“With the public health emergency now ending and the expiration of the COVID-19 Safety Agreement, individual employers continue to be responsible for ensuring safe workplaces for their employees,” the coalition continued, “but must seek separate agreement with the applicable joint unions before implementing any COVID safety protocols.”

Members of any film or TV production can get their paid sick leaves from April 2 to the 31st of December. Even after the ending of vaccine mandates this coming May. This is just in case a sudden virus contraction occurs, can’t risk making the stars sick now, can we? However, the vaccine mandate will end for good for just about any production that begins after the 12th of May.

“Any production which has implemented a mandatory vaccination policy for employees in Zone A prior to May 12, 2023, may continue to apply that mandatory vaccination policy for the remainder of the production (or season, in the case of a series),”

The AMPTP has made it clear that they need protocols in place as and when necessary. But this loosening of the protocols has come as a well-timed change. Will COVID threats delay more productions? Hopefully not.