"Patience Running Out" Biden Mandates COVID-19 Vaccination for Federal Employees... Pushes for Private Sector Enforcement

Federal Employees Required to Get Vaccinated
Provision Allowing Test Results Instead of Vaccination Removed
Mandatory Vaccination for Private Companies Also Being Pursued
100 Million Workers Affected
Booster Shot Timing to Be Announced Soon
Additional Overseas Vaccine Support Plan to Be Announced This Month

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a strong vaccination policy in response to the spread of COVID-19 infections due to the Delta variant.

On the 9th (local time), President Biden announced in a speech at the White House that he had signed an executive order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for federal government employees and contractors.

The executive order signed by President Biden on this day requires all federal government agencies to implement plans to vaccinate all employees against COVID-19, except where required by law.

This is a strengthened measure compared to the previous regulation requiring unvaccinated federal employees to submit weekly test results.

The executive order stipulates that all federal government agencies must establish vaccination guidelines within seven days.

President Biden also announced that hospital workers related to Medicare and Medicaid must complete their vaccinations.

He further mentioned that he instructed the Department of Labor to introduce regulations mandating vaccinations for private companies employing 100 or more people.

This expresses a strong determination to expand vaccinations to include not only public officials but also private sector workers.

President Biden criticized, "Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted full approval, 80 million people still have not been vaccinated," and explained the background of the vaccination mandate by saying, "Our patience has now reached its limit. Refusal to vaccinate is harming all of us."

He also asserted the justification for his vaccination mandate policy by stating, "Vaccination is not a matter of personal freedom. It is to protect those around us and ourselves. My mission is to protect all Americans."

President Biden also expressed concern that "unvaccinated people are filling hospitals."

President Biden said the vaccination mandate will apply to about 100 million people. The New York Times also reported that two-thirds of all U.S. workers will be affected by this measure, evaluating it as the strongest vaccination policy since Biden took office.

According to data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 53.3% of the total U.S. population, or 176 million people, have completed COVID-19 vaccinations.

Regarding the start of booster shot administration, President Biden explained that scientists from the FDA and CDC will soon decide when to begin booster shots.

President Biden mentioned that he plans to announce a vaccine support plan within this month to respond to the global spread of COVID-19.