WASHINGTON - President Biden on Thursday announced that all federal employees will be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face new testing, masking and distancing rules, as the White House takes a more aggressive approach to address the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

“After months and months of cases going down, we’re seeing a spike in covid cases. ... Why? Because of this new form, this new variant called the delta variant,” Biden said in remarks at the White House in which he described the new restrictions.

Biden’s directive will affect more than 4 million Americans, including over 2 million in the federal civilian workforce. On-site contractors also would be required to attest to their vaccination status.

Those who are not fully vaccinated would be required to wear a mask at work, physically distance from other employees and visitors, and undergo weekly or twice weekly testing.

The directive applies to federal employees and contractors both in the United States and overseas. The White House said those who are unvaccinated would be subject to restrictions on official travel.

The White House is not planning on firing government employees who aren’t vaccinated but see the restrictions on them as a way to encourage them to receive one of the vaccines that have received emergency-use authorization.

In a separate push to get more Americans vaccinated, the Treasury Department said Biden “is calling on state, territorial, and local governments to provide $100 payments for every newly vaccinated American, as an extra incentive to boost vaccination rates, protect communities, and save lives.”

The money would come from the $350 billion fund to help states, local governments and territories that was part of the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress earlier this year.

Biden also directed Defense Department officials to consider how and when they will add the coronavirus vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for members of the military, a step the White House considers critical as troops are serving in places with low vaccination rates and high infection case numbers.

Anticipating those who reject the government pressure, Biden said, “I know people talk about freedom, but I learned growing up ... with freedom comes responsibility. Your decision to be unvaccinated impacts someone else. Unvaccinated people spread the virus.”

The new policy closely aligns with steps recently put in place for government officials in California, New York state and New York City and comes as a rapidly growing number of private business are requiring their employees to get vaccinated as a condition of employment.

In recent days, the delta variant has spread markedly through parts of the United States, particularly among unvaccinated Americans, undercutting progress the Biden administration had made combating the virus.

Public health experts have long said that getting at least 70 percent of the public vaccinated is the single most important tool in controlling the pandemic, but some parts of the United States have fallen far short of that target. And some authorities are urging an even higher rate of vaccinations, given the increased virulence of the variant. (Source: The Washington Post)

Story Date: July 30, 2021