Sundaymail Editor
United States President Joe Biden announced Thursday that all federal employees and on-site contractors will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be required to wear masks and undergo repeated testing, an order that will affect millions of workers and is designed to be a model for other employers.
The new policy, a major change in the White House strategy against Covid-19, reflects a heightened concern within the West Wing about the raging delta variant, which is driving up infections and hospitalizations throughout large swaths of the country, at the same time that vaccination rates have stalled.
The administration hopes that the new directive will have a ripple effect and persuade an array of state and local governments, as well as private companies, to push their workers and customers harder to become vaccinated.
“I think you’re going to find the patience of businesses, and the patience of other people, running thin,” Biden said, his voice at times rising in exasperation. “Because the fact is, if we had a higher vaccination rate, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
He added, “If in fact you are unvaccinated, you present a problem — to yourself, to your family, and to those with whom you work. . . . You want to know how we put this virus behind us? I’ll tell you how. We need to get more people vaccinated.”
The announcement drew immediate pushback, including from federal unions. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents more than 26,000 officers, said requiring vaccines is an infringement on civil rights. The American Postal Workers Union also said it was opposed to requiring vaccinations for its members.
A White House spokesperson said Thursday night that U.S. Postal Service workers would not be subject to the mandate.
The need for mandates was dismissed by many at first, in part because public health officials assumed they wouldn’t be necessary once vaccines were widely available. But now that they have become the latest front in America’s culture wars and up to 30 percent of Americans are refusing to get a vaccine, many leaders are reconsidering whether tougher measures are needed.
The country is experiencing a seven-day average of nearly 70,000 new covid-19 cases a day now, after the rate fell as low as roughly 11,000 new cases daily last month. During his speech Biden made several direct appeals to the unvaccinated. – The Washington Post
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