President Joe Biden announced that a mandate will soon be issued requiring employers with more than 100 workers ensure that they are vaccinated against Covid-19 or get tested regularly. The president also continued to pitch booster shots, two of which await federal authorization.
‘The Labor Department is soon going to be issuing an emergency rule for companies with 100 or more employees to implement vaccination requirements among their employees,’ Biden said Thursday.
‘Every day you see more businesses implement vaccine requirements and the mounting data shows that they work.’
The mandate, which will cover an estimated 80million American employees, has already brought about threats of lawsuits from Republican attorneys general and prompted some people to quit their jobs.
Biden says his sweeping Covid-19 vaccination and testing mandate will boost the economy and save lives.
Mandates have already proven to be effective, Biden said, citing that nationally, daily Covid-19 cases are down by 47% while hospitalizations are down 38%.
‘The plan I laid out in September is working. We’re heading in the right direction. We have critical work to do but we can’t let up now,’ Biden said.
‘I’m calling on more businesses to step up, I’m calling on more parents to get their children vaccinated when they are eligible. And I’m asking everyone, everyone who hasn’t gotten vaccinated: get vaccinated. That’s how we put this pandemic behind us and accelerate our economic recovery.‘
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was already handling a broader mission prior to the new rule, but will release a draft for the rule before opening a brief public comment period.
Biden continued with his narrative that the country faces a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
‘We have to do more to vaccinate the 66million unvaccinated people in America, it’s essential. Vaccine requirements that we started rolling out in the summer are working,’ Biden said.
‘Vaccination requirements should not be another issue that divides us.’
Biden also said that progress being made in authorizing the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna booster shots.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing data on both booster shots, and should have a final decision within the next few weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will also review the data and give a verdict within that timeframe.
Pfizer’s booster shot received FDA authorization late last month. One-third of eligible seniors have received their Pfizer booster, Biden said.
As some citizens roll up their sleeves again for a booster, Biden says a first shot may be available soon for younger children.
The FDA and CDC are determining whether a vaccine will be authorized for younger children, aged five to 11, and should have a decision within the next few weeks.
‘If authorized we will be ready,’ he said.
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