Biden mandates vaccines for private sector, federal employees, healthcare staff and more

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Biden today took steps to increase the number of Americans who are vaccinated by mandating shots for healthcare workers and also for the private sector.

Biden's plan requires all employers with 100-plus employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or get tested weekly. Employers are to provide paid time off for their employees to get the vaccine.

The Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule for all employers to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or to provide a negative test once a week.

It requires vaccines for all federal workers and for the millions of contractors that do business with the federal government. 

Healthcare workers at Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals and who work in other settings, are being required to get the shot. The new action will protect patients of the 50,000 providers and over 17 million healthcare workers in Medicare and Medicaid certified facilities.

Also, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced today that emergency regulations requiring vaccinations for nursing home workers would be expanded to include hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, and home health agencies, among others, as a condition for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

CMS is developing an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period that will be issued in October. 

President Biden also called on large entertainment venues to require proof of vaccination to gain entry. He said his plan also increases testing and will keep kids safer in schools.

Biden is requiring all federal educators in Head Start to get vaccinated and is calling on all governors to require vaccines for all staff.

For educators who want to do the right thing, but who are being undermined, Biden said he would use his power as president to make sure their pay is restored by the government. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has said that the state Board of Education would withhold the pay of school leaders who implemented mask mandates for students.

The president also called on the airline industry to double the fines on travelers who refuse to wear a mask.

To help protect the economic recovery, he is expanding industry disaster loans. Small businesses may borrow up to $2 million if the pandemic has affected sales. There is no repayment for two years.

Kroger and other stores will begin selling the rapid COVID-19 test kits at cost.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The path ahead, even with the Delta variant, is not as bad as last winter, Biden said. But a minority, including some politicians, are stopping the country from turning a corner.

This week, the country hit a milestone in having 75% of adults over the age of 18 vaccinated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 64% of the population is fully vaccinated.

But for the quarter of the population who remain holdouts, "25% can cause a lot of damage and they are," Biden said.

The unvaccinated can no longer say they don't trust the vaccines because they haven't received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has granted full approval for the Pfizer vaccine. Moderna has completed its submission, and Johnson & Johnson is expecting to follow this year.

"This is not about freedom and personal choice," Biden said. "It's about protecting those around you. What more is there to wait for? What is there to see? Your refusal has cost all of us."

THE LARGER TREND

Vaccine mandates are increasing, and as of today are required as a condition for returning to work for the employees of 14 healthcare organizations in and around Washington. 

The organizations agreeing to the mandate include trade associations, research organizations and advocacy groups.

"Given the sharp rise in cases and deaths in the U.S., and recognizing that most new cases and the overwhelming majority of deaths occur among the unvaccinated, our organizations believe that a vaccine mandate is the primary way to assure the health and safety of our colleagues, family, friends, and communities," they said in a statement. 

The organizations include AcademyHealth, America's Essential Hospitals, AMCP, AMGA, ASHP, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, the National Health Council, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the National Pharmaceutical Council, the SNP Alliance, and the Society for Women's Health Research.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com