Sam Frost will not be able to return to work on Home And Away unless she is vaccinated against Covid-19.
According to a report in the Herald Sun on Friday, Director of Production at Seven West Media Andrew Backwell sent out an email to staff stating the network will ‘only engage fully vaccinated presenters, cast and crew.’
The deadline for staff from Seven Productions, which includes Home And Away, will need to be double vaccinated from January 10 to continue work.
Time to go? Sam Frost (pictured) will not be able to return to work on Home And Away unless she is vaccinated against Covid-19 after Channel Seven sent out an email to staff stating the network will ‘only engage fully vaccinated presenters, cast and crew’
A Seven spokesperson told the publication: ‘To provide the safest possible work environment for cast, crew and presenters, Seven Productions have made the decision to only engage those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, taking effect in January next year.
‘Seven strongly encourages vaccination to protect our people, their colleagues and their families.’
While the network would not comment on individuals, the mandate is likely to affected Sam, 32, who recently stated that she was not vaccinated.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Seven for further comment.
Mandate: The deadline for staff from Seven Productions, which includes Home And Away, will need to be double vaccinated from January 10 to continue work. Sam is pictured on the soap
The former Bachelorette star had deactivated her Instagram account on October 9, shortly after revealing in an emotional video that she was unvaccinated and her mental health had suffered as a result of other people ‘judging’ her.
The actress, who has played nurse Jasmine Delaney on Home and Away since 2017, called for less judgement towards unvaccinated Australians.
‘I was really hesitant about doing a video or even speaking up about this sort of thing, but I feel like it’s getting to a point now in the world where there’s a lot of segregation,’ she said in the video.
A Seven spokesperson told The Herald Sun: ‘To provide the safest possible work environment for cast, crew and presenters, Seven Productions have made the decision to only engage those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, taking effect in January next year’
‘There’s a lot of harsh judgement and opinions being thrown around a lot and it’s taking its toll on my mental health for sure, and I know people around me are struggling – particularly if they’re on the side of they don’t want to get vaccinated, for whatever reason.
‘There are lots of different reasons why people are not getting vaccinated and it might be because of their medical history, their concerns, they might have family history, it could be religious reasons.’
Sam then said she hadn’t been vaccinated, but claimed she had spoken to her medical doctor as well as a psychologist about her decision, however it’s understood she does not have a valid medical exemption.
She added tearfully: ‘It’s a really hard time to be in society right now and you feel like you are less of a human and you feel like people judge you.
Comments: The former Bachelorette star had deactivated her Instagram account on October 9, shortly after revealing in an emotional video that she was unvaccinated and her mental health had suffered as a result of other people ‘judging’ her
‘And you’re too scared to talk about your opinion or your feelings and part of you wants to go, “Well, it’s none of your damn business why I’m not! And there’s good reasons why I’m not and I don’t want you to judge me.”‘
She explained it was important for the unvaccinated to look after their mental health, especially as freedoms return for fully vaccinated Australians.
‘I’m struggling a lot with my mental health and I like to think that I’m pretty on to it. I see a psychologist regularly. So I can’t imagine what it’s like for people who don’t have a support network around them,’ she said.
She also added she could ‘get in trouble’ for coming out publicly as unvaccinated, before urging people to treat each other with more kindness and compassion.
Judgement: The actress, who has played nurse Jasmine Delaney on Home and Away since 2017, called for less judgement towards unvaccinated Australians
Her video caused a great deal of controversy, mainly because of her use of the word ‘segregation’ when referring to the way society ‘judges’ unvaccinated people.
‘Segregation’ is typically used to describe societies that are divided due to race, religion or sexual orientation.
A Seven spokesperson said shortly afterwards: ‘Seven strongly encourages vaccination for all our people and all Seven productions strictly adhere to the public health Covid-19 safe protocols.
‘All Home and Away cast and crew also undertake Covid-19 testing three times a week in addition to other preventative measures.
Controversy: Her video caused a great deal of controversy, mainly because of her use of the word ‘segregation’ when referring to the way society ‘judges’ unvaccinated people
‘Sam Frost continues to work on Home and Away and follows the safety protocols in place.’
Sam returned to Instagram on Wednesday, after deactivating her account earlier this month in the wake of backlash for her since-deleted anti-vax video rant.
The actress thanked her loved ones, including her colleagues, and said she’d been inundated with ‘support and love’.
Support: Sam returned to Instagram on Wednesday, after deactivating her account earlier in the wake of backlash for her since-deleted anti-vax video rant. The actress thanked her loved ones, including her colleagues, and said she’d been inundated with ‘support and love’
‘Thank you for the enormous amount of support and love over the past few weeks,’ she began in a post on Instagram Stories.
‘I received thousands and thousands of beautiful messages and emails. I appreciate it, more than you’ll ever know.
‘Incredibly grateful for my friends, family and work colleagues who held my hand through the storm, and loved me unconditionally. Kindness always wins. With all of my heart, thank you.’
‘I received thousands and thousands of beautiful messages and emails. I appreciate it, more than you’ll ever know’ she wrote