Pres. Joe Biden Considers Requiring COVID Vaccines Among Federal Employees
President Joe Biden disclosed his administration is weighing whether COVID-19 vaccines should be mandatory among federal employees, as the Delta variant of coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the U.S.
The president's commented on the requirement of vaccines on Tuesday after the U.S. chief executive visited the Office of National Intelligence located in Virginia, Bloomberg reported.
Pres. Joe Biden Weighs on Making Vaccines Mandatory Among Federal Employees
Citing a source familiar to the matter, Bloomberg noted that the White House assesses whether they will require their workers or employees to confirm their vaccine status or submit to regular testing and abide by strict protocols such as wearing face masks. Although the decision is not yet final, the source who was not identified, also highlighted that areas with no significant spread of the virus would also be affected if the mandate would be finalized.
"That is under consideration right now [mandatory vaccine], but if you're not vaccinated, you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were," President Joe Biden said to the reporters. Biden also highlighted that if "other 100 million people" got inoculated against the notorious disease, "we would be in a different world."
President Biden's comments reflect the announcement of the Department of Veteran Affairs, requiring their front-line health workers to be COVID vaccinated. Furthermore, Biden's statements also echoed what White House press secretary Jen Psaki stressed hours earlier.
Earlier Tuesday, Psaki noted that there is a high possibility for other federal agencies who would join the Department of Veteran Affairs in requiring their employees to get the vaccine.
"I think a range of agencies and leaders will look at what steps they should take to protect their workforce and lives," Psaki stated.
White House Officials Brings Back Indoor Face Masks Mandate
President Joe Biden's comment on Tuesday happened as all the White House employees, will be asked to wear again their face masks indoors starting Wednesday, Associated Press reported.
The sudden reimplementing of wearing of face masks comes after the White House insisted for days that vaccinated people are safe from the virus.
Apart from White house employees, reporters would also be affected by the mandate. AP mentioned that staff and reporters who remained at the White House late Tuesday were already wearing face masks in the building.
President Joe Biden signaled that there may be more changes to come when it comes to COVID protocols, as Delta variant spike infection rates in the U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Delta variant now accounts for at least 83 percent of all sequence COVID-19 cases across the United States. The recent rate of Delta variant cases came up from 50 percent at the beginning of the month.
Meanwhile, 69 percent of adult Americans have at least one dose of vaccine, which makes it fall a little short of the president's 70 percent benchmark.
Furthermore, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, said that recent data suggests that some vaccinated individuals who were infected by the Delta variant can spread the strain to others. However, President Biden and other officials underscored that the COVID vaccine is still the best protection against death, hospitalization, and illness.
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This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Biden Considering Mandatory COVID Vaccines for Federal Workers - From Bloomberg Quicktake:Now
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