President Joe Biden has laid out several new requirements for federal employees to get them to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Thursday, Biden announced that all federal workers must sign forms certifying that they’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine. If they have not, they must comply with strict guidelines, including weekly testing, social distancing, and mandatory masks.
The federal government currently has nearly 4 million employees who will be receiving these notices. Federal contractors make up an additional 7 million employees, who will also be forced to abide by these guidelines. He also ordered the Defense Department to review adding the COVID-19 shot to its list of required vaccinations for military members. Those in the service already get around 17 required vaccines depending on where they are stationed.
Biden says that the push is to motivate federal employees to get vaccinated to end this “American tragedy.”
About 69.3% of American adults have received the full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. While this number is impressive, it is still below the 70% goal that Biden had hoped to achieve by July 4th.
These new initiatives have already received some pushback from anti-vaxxers, Republicans, and activists who do not believe that the government should pressure federal workers to take the vaccine.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, representing 30,000 federal officers and agents, disagrees with the president seemingly backing employees into a corner.
“Forcing people to undertake a medical procedure is not the American way and is a clear civil rights violation no matter how proponents may seek to justify it,” said Larry Cosme, president of the association.
While Biden is not making anyone take the shot, he is committed to making sure that they are required to abide by early-pandemic stipulations if they refuse the vaccine.
