Vaccination will become mandatory for federal officials
US President Joe Biden is expected to unveil a major plan today to step up the fight against the Delta KOVID-19 pandemic. As part of this plan, he will announce that vaccination will become mandatory for federal officials, AFP reported.
Biden is expected to sign a decree requiring all employees to be vaccinated, who will no longer be able to avoid vaccination through regular tests, the Washington Post reported, citing a familiar source. The measures will also affect the millions of subcontractors of federal agencies, according to. The Wall Street Journal.
The strategy aims to increase the number of vaccinations and reduce the number of hospital admissions, a White House spokeswoman told CNN today. The other goals of the strategy are to protect the economy and prevent school closures, according to media reports.
Some Americans are still against or reluctant to get vaccinated, recalls AFP. The White House has already imposed mandatory vaccinations on the military and nursing home staff if the latter receive federal subsidies.
A national campaign for booster doses is expected to begin on September 20. 53.3 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated, but the country reports the highest number of deaths due to KOVID-19 in the world – nearly 653,000 since the beginning of the pandemic.
–
