King Soopers will no longer require vaccinated customers and employees to wear masks in its stores starting Thursday unless mandated by local ordinances.

The policy change was announced by Kroger, the parent company of King Soopers and City Market, on Wednesday.

The announcement follows the guidance from the the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention that no longer requires masks for fully vaccinated individuals indoors.

“Based on the CDC’s science-based guidance and the input of our associates, we are updating our mask policy in a way that balances our values of safety and respect,” Kroger officials said in a news release.

Other major retailers such as Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Walgreens have also since dropped the mask requirement in stores for fully vaccinated individuals.

Kroger’s guidelines include:

• Starting Thursday, fully vaccinated customers and most fully vaccinated associates no longer need to wear a mask in our facilities, including stores, distribution centers, plants and offices, unless otherwise required by state or local jurisdiction. If there is a state or local mandate, we will adhere to that requirement and its timeline.
• Non-vaccinated associates will be required to wear a mask
• Associates in our pharmacy and clinic locations will be required to continue wearing a mask due to the CDC’s guidance for healthcare settings.
• We request that non-vaccinated customers continue to wear a mask
• And we will continue to respect the choice of individuals who prefer to continue to wear a mask

Kroger is offering employees a one-time payment of $100 for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Customers can also go to www.kroger.com/covidvaccine to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine. However, many of the pharmacies are accepting walk-in appointments.