Workers who received an exemption on medical or religious grounds were placed on unpaid leave.
More than 96% of United's roughly 67,000 workers were vaccinated, United said last year.

United Airlines, citing a steep decline in Covid-19 cases, told staff Thursday that it will allow unvaccinated workers to return to their jobs starting March 28, a shift from a company that had one of the country's strictest inoculation mandates.

Last August, United said it would require U.S. employees to be vaccinated against Covid or face termination. More than 96% of United's roughly 67,000 U.S. workers were vaccinated, the company said.

In January, CEO Scott Kirby said the company didn't have any Covid deaths among unvaccinated workers over the past eight weeks, despite a surge in cases of the omicron variant, which has since subsided.