Biden reveals sweeping jab mandates
Warning to 100 million vaccine holdouts is that ‘our patience is wearing thin’
In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden yesterday ordered sweeping new federal vaccine requirements for as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase Covid-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant.
Speaking at the White House, Biden sharply criticised the tens of millions of Americans who are not yet vaccinated, despite months of availability and incentives.
“We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us,” he said. The unvaccinated minority “can cause a lot of damage, and they are”.
Republican leaders — and some union chiefs, too — said Biden was going too far in trying to muscle private companies and workers, a certain sign of legal challenges to come.
American Federation of Government Employees national president
Everett Kelley insisted that “changes like this should be negotiated . . . ”
There was also strong praise for Biden’s efforts to get the nation vaccinated from the American Medical Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable — though no direct mention of his mandate for private companies.
The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans. And the roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid also will have to be fully vaccinated.
Biden is also requiring vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government — with no option to test out. That covers several million more workers. He announced the requirements as part of a new “action plan” to address the latest rise in coronavirus cases and the stagnating pace of Covid jabs.
Just two months ago Biden prematurely declared the nation’s “independence” from the virus. Now, despite more than 208 million Americans having at least one shot, the US is having about 300 per cent more new infections a day, about two-and-a-half times more hospitalisations, and nearly twice the number of deaths compared to this time last year. Some 80 million people are unvaccinated.
“We are in the tough stretch and it could last for a while,” Biden said.
After months of using promotions to drive the vaccination rate, he is taking a much firmer hand, as he blames people who have not yet received jabs for the sharp rise in cases killing more than 1000 people per day and putting at risk a fragile economic rebound.
In addition to the vaccination requirements, Biden moved to double federal fines for airline passengers who refuse to wear masks on flights or to maintain face covering requirements on federal property in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. He announced the government would work to increase the supply of virus tests, and that the White House has secured concessions from retailers including Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger to sell at-home testing kits at cost starting this week.
The administration is also sending additional federal support to assist schools in safely operating, including additional funding for testing. And Biden called for large entertainment venues and arenas to require vaccinations or proof of a negative test for entry. The requirement for large companies to mandate vaccinations or weekly testing for employees will be enacted through a forthcoming rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that carries penalties of $14,000 per violation. The rule will require that large companies provide paid time off for vaccination.
Biden’s order for executive branch workers and contractors includes exceptions for workers seeking religious or medical exemptions from vaccination, according to press secretary Jen Psaki. Federal workers who don’t comply will be referred to their agencies’ human resources departments for counselling and discipline, to include potential termination.
An AP-NORC poll conducted in August found 55 per cent of Americans in favour of requiring government workers to be fully vaccinated, and 21 per cent opposed. Similar majorities also backed vaccine mandates for health care workers, teachers working at K-12 schools and workers who interact with the public, as at restaurants and stores.
Biden has encouraged Covid vaccine requirements in settings such as schools, workplaces and university campuses.
In the government, several federal agencies previously announced vaccine requirements for much of their staff, particularly those in healthcare roles such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Pentagon moved last month to require all service members to get vaccinated. Combined, the White House estimates those requirements cover 2.5 million Americans. Yesterday’s order is expected to impact nearly two million more federal workers and potentially millions of contractors.
What was really needed was a change in mindset for many people, said Dr Joshua Sharfstein, vice-dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
“There is an aspect to this now that has to do with our country being so divided,” he said. “This has become so politicised that people can’t see the value of a vaccination that can save their lives.”
More than 177 million Americans are fully vaccinated, but confirmed cases have shot up in recent weeks to an average of about 140,000 per day, with on average about 1000 deaths. AP