Biden announces measures to stimulate vaccinations against the Covid-19 virus, including requirements for federal employees

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CNN –

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a number of new steps his administration will take to try to vaccinate more Americans and slow the spread of the coronavirus, including requiring all federal employees to vaccinate against Covid-19 or face strict protocols.

The new measures come amid a spike in Covid-19 hospital admissions and deaths in the United States. The vast majority of individuals with severe cases of Covid-19 are not immunized.

This is an American tragedy. People dying – and dying – should not die. “If you’re out there vulnerable, you don’t have to die,” Biden said during remarks at the White House. “Read the news. You’ll see stories of unvaccinated patients in hospitals, lying in bed and dying of Covid-19, asking, ‘Doctor, can I get the vaccine?’ Doctors should say, ‘Sorry, it’s too late.'”

In his toughest approach yet to getting Americans to get vaccinated, the president has frankly argued that if you don’t get vaccinated, “you’re a problem for yourself, your family, and those you work with.”

Biden said that every federal government employee and contractor on the site will be required to prove their vaccination status.

Employees who have not been vaccinated “will be required to wear a mask while on the job regardless of their geographic location, physical distance from all other employees and visitors, comply with weekly or twice-weekly screening test requirements, and submit to official travel restrictions,” the White House said before Biden’s speech.

CNN previously reported that the requirement to vaccinate a federal employee is not a mandate, officials insisted, and most federal employees who are not vaccinated will not lose their jobs as a result.

But the decision nonetheless marks a turning point away from encouraging Americans to vaccinate in their own time and toward shifting responsibility to unvaccinated individuals.

Other efforts Thursday by the administration to spur vaccinations included expanding paid leave for employees who take time off to vaccinate themselves and their family members. Biden said employers would be compensated. He also called on states, territories and local governments to do more to stimulate vaccination, including offering $100 to Americans who receive the vaccination, paid for with US bailout funding.

“I know paying people to get vaccinated may seem unfair to those who have already been vaccinated. But here’s the deal: If incentives help us beat this virus, I think we should use them. We all benefit,” Biden said.

The president also announced that he has instructed the Department of Defense “to consider how and when they will add Covid-19 to the list of vaccinations our armed forces must have.”

“Our men and women in uniform, who protect this country from serious threats, must be protected as much as possible from Covid-19,” he said. “I think this is especially important because our forces serve in places all over the world, where vaccination rates are low and disease is rampant,” Biden added.

Finally, the president called on school districts across the country to host at least one pop-up vaccination clinic over the coming weeks in an effort to vaccinate more children age 12 and older.

In response to a reporter’s questions after his remarks, the president said he does not yet know whether the federal government has the authority to order vaccines. “The question remains as to whether the federal government can mandate the entire country” for vaccines, he said, adding that he expects the vaccines to be fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the fall.

On Monday, the Justice Department decided that federal law does not prohibit public agencies and private companies from ordering Covid-19 vaccines — even if the vaccines have only had emergency use authorization so far. Biden aides have previously said they do not believe he has the power to demand that all Americans shoot. But they believe his oversight of the federal workforce can be a powerful model for other employers considering their options on ordering vaccines.

But many groups representing federal workers across the government are already raising concerns about their employee requirements, including groups representing federal law enforcement officers, IRS directors and members of the US Border Patrol, among others.

Other groups, such as the International Federation of Technical and Technical Engineers, have come out in support.

Biden aides said the point of the requirement is to make not vaccinating so burdensome that those who haven’t been vaccinated will have no choice but to get them. It’s an approach being tested by leaders in Europe, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who has asked for either proof of vaccination or a negative test in public. Some states, including New York, have also said government employees must either prove they are vaccinated or get tested weekly.

The White House had previously indicated that it would support decisions by private companies to enforce Covid-19 vaccinations, but Biden took another step on Thursday, saying he would like to see companies, states and schools move in the direction of the Covid-19-vaccination demand.

Dr. Rochelle Wallinsky, director of the CDC, said Wednesday on CNN that health permits for fully vaccinated people, such as those used in parts of Europe, “may be a good way forward.”

But the president appears to have shifted that responsibility onto companies – not the federal government – on Thursday.

“I think if we don’t start making more progress, a lot of companies and a lot of organizations are going to require proof (of vaccination) or they won’t be able to participate,” Biden said.

The spread of the highly contagious delta variant in the United States and low vaccine uptake have led the federal government to take a number of steps to further mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

Earlier this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone — including vaccinated individuals — wear masks indoors in areas with a high or high prevalence of Covid-19. The agency has also recommended masks for all K-12 children in schools, even those who have been vaccinated.

The Department of Veterans Affairs also recently announced that it will require the vaccination of health care workers on the front lines over the next two months.

During his remarks Thursday, Biden acknowledged his frustration with the nation’s slow recovery and renewal of restrictions.

“We have the right plan. We’re going back. We just have to stay ahead of this virus,” Biden said. I know it’s frustrating. I know it’s exhausting to think we’re still in this fight. And I know we were hoping this was a simple, straight line with no new issues or challenges. But this is not a real reality. (We) are emerging from the worst public health crisis in 100 years. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 49.4% of the entire US population has been fully vaccinated. Despite a previous decline in the frequency of vaccinations, 389,963 people are now vaccinated every day, according to the current seven-day average.

That’s its highest rate in more than three weeks, but still short of the pace set by the millions who were getting shots every day earlier this year.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, DJ Judd, Liz Stark, Jacqueline Howard and Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.

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