Does ‘Days of Our Lives’ Have a COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate?
Days of Our Lives fans have been wondering about the show’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Ever since General Hospital star Steve Burton was fired from the show that employed him for 30 years (off and on), Days fans have questions about the fate of their own actors. But does the soap require their cast to be vaccinated? The answer may surprise you.
The ‘Days of Our Lives’ cast only waded into the COVID-19 debate once
Despite the trend of many soap stars wading into the COVID-19 debate, Days of Our Lives actors only waded into the debate once. That happened when Judi Evans, who plays Bonnie, shared her thoughts on the controversial vaccines.
“Hospitals are filling up with mostly unvaccinated patients, right? Who’s going to fight for the heart attack, stroke victims, accident victims who will be turned away, or not treated in time because the hospital so overloaded?” she said.
When a fan pushed back against her stance, the Days of Our Lives star revealed that she battled COVID, and she felt the rewards of the vaccine far outweighed the risks. “We are so advanced medically,” she said. “[H]aving had Covid badly, it was definitely worth the risk. I mean people are taking Ivermectin for cattle instead of the vaccine!! What’s up with that? It hasn’t even been tested.”
‘Days’ had to shut down shooting when a cast member tested positive for COVID-19
In October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter said that Days of Our Lives had to shut down production after a cast member tested positive for COVID-19. The outlet confirmed that filming shut down for two weeks while the cast member — whose identity wasn’t revealed — recovered. The rest of the cast had to quarantine, as well.
The good news was, Days didn’t have to worry about falling behind in the production department. That’s because they had a lot of episodes already “in the bag.”
“Days of Our Lives resumed filming on Sept. 1, making it the last of the four broadcast daytime soaps to turn the cameras back on,” reported the outlet. “That was in part because Days had many more episodes already banked than its counterparts, CBS’ The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful and ABC’s General Hospital. While those shows ran out of new material in the spring, Days — which works months ahead of its air schedule — had enough episodes to last until October.”
But there’s no vaccine mandate in place
Despite this scare, Days of Our Lives does not have a vaccine mandate in place. And, as was previously reported, The Bold and the Beautiful does not have a vaccine mandate in place, either. The only daytime soap to have a vaccine mandate in place is General Hospital.
Different soap stars have different opinions about the vaccine, though. While Days of Our Lives star Judi Evans and General Hospital star Nancy Lee Grahn are both pro-vaccine, Ingo Rademacher, Steve Burton, and The Bold and the Beautiful star Aaron Spears are anti-vaccine.
