This content was published on 07 October 2021 – 22:28
Washington, Oct 7 (EFE) .- The president of the United States, Joe Biden, defended this Thursday his mandate to vaccinate against the covid-19 to most of the workers of private companies in the country, arguing that “there is no other way to end the pandemic. “
A month after announcing that his government will develop a rule to force either to be vaccinated or to present negative results of COVID-19 tests weekly to the employees of all companies that have 100 workers or more, Biden traveled to the outskirts of Chicago to promote that idea.
“I know that vaccination requirements are not easy to accept. They are unpopular for some, they are something to do politics with for others. But they save lives. They are something revolutionary for our country,” said Biden from the town of Elk Grove Village, where he visited a construction company that has demanded vaccinations from its employees.
Biden’s term will affect some 80 million workers, more than two-thirds of the country’s workforce; But it has not yet gone into effect: the Department of Labor is still developing an emergency rule to implement it, and it is unclear when it will introduce it.
That future measure has generated strong resistance from the Republican opposition in the country, where the attorneys general of at least 24 states led by conservatives have threatened possible legal measures to try to stop it, for believing that it infringes on individual freedoms.
The state of Arizona has already sued the Biden government over the issue, and other territories, such as Missouri, are exploring the possibility of passing state laws that may prevent the implementation of the rule in their jurisdiction.
In the private sector, many companies have welcomed Biden’s order, but others have complained about a lack of details on how to implement it, with some fear that the requirement could even lead some employees to leave their jobs, in a difficult time finding and retaining staff.
Companies that do not comply with the mandate will face “significant” fines, up to $ 13,600 per violation, according to the White House.
Biden said Thursday that he does not understand the opposition to the vaccination requirements, when it is clear that they “work”, and that “they are nothing new”, given that they have eradicated diseases such as measles or polio in the country.
“I ask more companies to act (to impose vaccination mandates on their own),” said Biden, who met during his trip with the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, who imposed this measure on all employees of his company and has achieved that 99% of its workforce is vaccinated. EFE
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