(NEW YORK) — Google plans to require any employee in its offices to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to an email sent by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday.

“Even as the virus continues to surge in many parts of the world,” Pichai wrote, “it’s encouraging to see very high vaccination rates for our Google community in areas where vaccines are widely available.” He cites that high vaccination rate as being a key to the company re-opening some of its offices to employees who chose to return to work already.

“Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead,” he continued.

The requirement will be rolled out “in the coming weeks,” in the United States, and is intended to expand to other regions in the next few months. Pichai notes that implementation of the requirement “will vary according to local conditions and regulations, and will not apply until vaccines are widely available in your area.”

The CEO also saying in his email that while the company has begun to reopen campuses, Google employees who choose to work from home will be allowed to do so through at least October 18.

“We recognize that many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities cause by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office,” Pichai said.

He also noted that the company is working to develop “expanded temporary work options” for employees with “special circumstances,” which would allow those employees to work from home through the end of 2021.

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