President Joe Biden is reportedly intensely pondering over requiring federal employees to show proof they have been vaccinated to help mitigate the prevalence of the new Delta variant of COVID-19. Otherwise, they will have to submit to regular testing and don a face mask.
This marks a potentially significant shift in guidelines that depicts growing concerns regarding the prevalence of the infectious variant. According to an anonymous person familiar with the plans, the potential vaccine mandate for federal employees is one choice under being mulled over by the Biden administration.
Biden is reportedly providing strong consideration to new guidelines for federal employees. According to a source, one option under deliberation is verification that federal employees are inoculated for the novel coronavirus through an inoculation validation.
The president's remarks depict the mounting concern among United States public health officials regarding the new variant of the coronavirus. Following the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s more rigid mask guidelines, Biden made the remarks advising fully inoculated individuals to wear face masks indoors in places where the virus is very prevalent.
Announcement of the Vaccine Mandate
On Thursday, the Biden administration is slated to declare the vaccine mandate for federal employees. CNN was the initial news outlet to inform the declaration.
The move on Thursday would make an impact on about 2.1 million people, reported Business Insider.
It is expected of the White House to make a declaration on its final decision following the conclusion of a police review this week. In 2020, over 4.2 million federal workers across the US, including workers in the military, as indicated in an evaluation from the federal Office of Management and Budget, reported WLWT5.
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Biden's Statement on Next Steps
According to Biden, he would draw up his next action steps on how to persuade Americans to receive a vaccination on Thursday in a statement. He underscored that vaccinations are the best way for people to shield themselves from the spread of the Delta variant. He remarked, "More vaccinations and mask wearing in the areas most impacted by the Delta variant will enable us to avoid the kind of lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures, and disruptions we faced in 2020," reported NPR.
Biden also said that the more we learn, the more we learn about COVID-19 and the Delta variant, the more it should be alarming.
The president on Tuesday suggested that extending the mandate to the whole federal workforce was being mulled over. He did not indicate further details. The Department of Veterans Affairs is the first federal agency to necessitate health worker inoculations, which started on Monday.
The more extensive prerequisite under weighing in would be the most remarkable shift by the Biden administration this week. This is while the White House tackles spiking COVID-19 cases and admissions to hospitals nationwide. Aside from being incited by the prevalence of the Delta variant, the surge was also brought upon by breakthrough infections among inoculated US citizens.
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