Swab or jab
Prez sets new vaccine conditions, urges govs to mandate teacher vax
As many as 100 million American workers will be mandated to get vaccines or undergo weekly coronavirus testing as part of a sweeping set of new federal vaccine conditions where President Biden also pressured governors to require vaccines for school teachers.
“If these governors don’t help end the pandemic, I’ll get them out of the way,” Biden said, warning states that block coronavirus protections would face legal action.
But Gov. Charlie Baker’s office has defiantly signaled there would be no statewide COVID vaccine mandate for Massachusetts educators, instead opting to put the decision on the backs of cities and towns.
“Governor Baker recently directed all cities and towns to require all municipal employees, including their school employees, to be vaccinated and is committed to assist local officials to implement these measures,” Press Secretary Terry MacCormack said in a statement that emphasized that Baker agrees “all teachers should be vaccinated.”
In his Aug. 19 executive order mandating vaccines for the 42,000 state workers, Baker said municipalities “are encouraged” to adopt similar policies, though it does not explicitly reference schools.
State teachers unions have for weeks pressed the Baker administration to impose a statewide mandate requiring school employees and eligible students get vaccinated.
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy called it a “reasonable measure to protect the common good.”
It’s a sentiment Biden echoed in his 30-minute appeal to the American people where he urged the some 80 million still unvaccinated to roll up their sleeves.
“We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us,” he said, noting the unvaccinated minority “can cause a lot of damage, and they are.”
An average of 1,500 Americans are dying of coronavirus daily as the delta variant has sent case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths surging once again.
But some are already calling into question the president’s authority to impose the bold mandates outlined in the six-part plan that mandates that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, expands vaccine requirements for health workers and also doubles fines for airline passengers
who defy mask mandates.
“This vastly exceeds the powers the United States Constitution allots the executive branch. The federal government has no police power, and likewise no authority to force private employers of any size to mandate vaccines,” said Jenin Younes, litigation counsel for the right-leaning New Civil Liberties Alliance.
Retailers Association of Massachusetts
President Jon Hurst worries the mandate could further burden small businesses already crippled by the pandemic.
“If the federal government is going to be requiring this, then they better find a way to cover the cost and streamline compliance for these small businesses,” Hurst said.