As part of a package of new pandemic-containment measures, U.S. President Joe Biden announced federal COVID-19 vaccination and testing mandates that will soon affect some two-thirds of U.S. workers (WSJ). The federal government’s broadest-yet requirements come as COVID-19 continues to kill at least one thousand Americans per day (AP) and jeopardize U.S. economic recovery.
U.S. firms with more than one hundred employees must mandate vaccinations or weekly testing, and large companies must offer paid time off for immunizations. Some state governors objected to the mandates as federal overreach. The new requirements mirror vaccine mandates (Reuters) elsewhere in the world, such as in Canada, where all federal employees and many other workers must be vaccinated.
Analysis
“Good to hear President Biden is announcing today new initiatives to bolster US testing capacities. The erosion of testing in the US predates the fall in infections in early 2021. States stopped testing because they didn’t have enough resources to do mass vaccination AND testing,” CFR’s Jennifer Nuzzo tweets.
“A surge in [COVID-19] deaths crippled consumer confidence in August and portends a possible chill in fall spending as people again opt for limited in-person commerce,” the New York Times’ Jim Tankersley writes.
This In Brief looks at the COVID-19 vaccination challenge.
