Status: 08/19/2021 00:30 a.m.
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According to federal employees and soldiers, a corona vaccination will also apply to certain nursing staff in the future. In addition, the Biden government now recommends a third vaccination after eight months.
The US government will require nursing staff to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the future. As President Biden said in the White House, vaccination should apply in homes where people are covered by Medicare and Medicaid public health insurance. According to the White House, the planned regulations affect more than 15,000 nursing homes nationwide with 1.3 million employees and 1.6 million residents.
In view of the increasing number of infections, Biden is trying to push ahead with the nationwide vaccination campaign. Amid the spread of the delta variant, an average of around 130,000 new infections are now recorded in the USA again.
So far, according to official figures, hundreds of thousands of employees in nursing homes have not been vaccinated, although the facilities were particularly affected at the beginning of the pandemic and the employees were among the first to be eligible for vaccination.
Recently more vaccinations
In the past few weeks, millions of federal employees have already been forced by the government to provide evidence of a vaccination or otherwise to adhere to strict requirements. Compulsory vaccinations are to be introduced for military employees. According to plans by the government, vaccination should also apply in future to all those entering the USA from overseas.
The advance seems to be working: In the course of the past month, the rate of new vaccinations doubled – to around 450,000 per day. More than 200 million Americans have now been vaccinated at least once, according to the White House. 80 million more are eligible for vaccination, but have not yet been immunized.
“The right lever at the right time”
Mandatory vaccinations are “the right lever at the right time,” says Ben Wakana, Vice Communications Director of the Covid staff in the White House, recently. He referred to the increasing trust of the population in the corona vaccines and spoke of a new phase in the government’s vaccination campaign.
Many Republicans, especially potential presidential candidates for the 2024 election, see it differently. They warn that the state will violate a decision that should actually be left to the individual.
There is support for compulsory vaccination among the US population. According to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 51 percent of Americans think the government should recommend employers to require their employees to be vaccinated. 45 percent reject this.
Booster vaccinations from September
The US health authorities announced yesterday that all citizens would be offered a Corona booster vaccination from mid-September. Biden said a third dose of vaccine would strengthen the immune response and improve protection against Covid-19. A booster vaccination is also the best protection against possible new virus variants.
Biden defended booster vaccinations despite global vaccine shortages. “I know there are some world leaders who say America shouldn’t get a third vaccination until other countries get their first vaccination. I disagree.”
“We can take care of America and help the world at the same time,” said the president. In June and August, the United States vaccinated 50 million doses of vaccine in the United States and at the same time donated 100 million to other countries. Biden announced further donations in the fall.
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