President Biden wants to compel US citizens to have the corona vaccination. He is betting on a significant expansion of the regulations on mandatory vaccination. This is to stop the advance of the delta variant.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, US President Joe Biden is tightening the vaccination requirements for federal employees and companies. As Biden announced in the White House on Thursday, all employees of federal agencies and employees of government contractors are now required to be vaccinated. In addition, companies with more than 100 employees will need to ensure that their employees are vaccinated or tested once a week. According to Biden, the new requirements apply to around one hundred million people.
In presenting a “six-point strategy” against the pandemic, the president went tough with those who did not get vaccinated. “A certain minority of Americans, supported by a certain minority of elected representatives, prevents us from getting over the mountain,” said Biden. “What makes it incredibly frustrating is that we have the tools to fight Covid-19.”
Biden spoke of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”. Around 80 million people who could be vaccinated have not yet done so. “That’s a minority of 25 percent,” said the president. “That 25 percent can do a lot of damage, and they do. Unvaccinated people overcrowd our hospitals, emergency rooms and intensive care units. They leave no room for people with a heart attack, pancreatitis or cancer.” Biden warned that “patience” with unvaccinated people would soon run out.
Dramatic increase in the number of infections
The USA has seen a dramatic increase in the number of infections in the past few weeks, which is mainly due to the spread of the delta variant. Currently, around 150,000 new infections and 1,500 deaths are registered on a weekly average. Conservatively governed states in the southern United States such as Florida, Texas and Mississippi, where hospitals are again becoming increasingly overburdened, are particularly affected.
The number of infections and deaths had fallen sharply in Biden’s first few months thanks to rapid progress in the nationwide vaccination campaign. Later, however, the vaccination campaign came to a standstill in the face of a large number of opponents and skeptics of vaccination.
In the meantime, 208 million people in the USA – almost 63 percent of the total population – have received at least one dose of vaccine, 53 percent are fully vaccinated. Among adults, the proportion is 75 and just under 65 percent.
Especially among supporters of the conservative Republicans of ex-President Donald Trump there is resistance to vaccinations and against wearing masks. Republican politicians are strongly against compulsory vaccinations or masks.
Biden: It’s about protecting yourself and others
Given the extensive powers of the states, Biden’s options in fighting the pandemic are limited. After the full approval of the Biontech / Pfizer corona vaccine, his government had already issued mandatory vaccination for all members of the armed forces. Federal employees have so far had the choice of having themselves vaccinated or tested regularly. This option is no longer available.
The requirement for companies with more than 100 employees to ensure a vaccination or regular test for their employees is to be introduced via an emergency ordinance from the Ministry of Labor, as Biden said on Thursday. “We will protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated colleagues.”
The Democrat appealed to everyone to get vaccinated now. “This is not about freedom or personal decisions, it is about protecting yourself and others,” said Biden in his speech. The Republicans immediately responded to this statement with criticism: “That sounds pretty much like a dictatorship,” wrote the Republican parliamentary group in the House of Representatives in the short message service Twitter.
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