President Joe Biden is expected to announce Thursday that all federal employees and contractors must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested regularly, CNN reported late Tuesday, citing a knowledgeable source.
The President is expected to stop short of imposing the mandate on service members, the report said. He may outline steps that DOD will take in the future.
Biden confirmed to reporters Tuesday that the move is “under consideration,” and he blamed unvaccinated Americans for a rise in new cases and the need for more mitigation steps. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that even vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in COVID-19 hot spots.
“The more we learn about this virus and the Delta variant, the more we have to be worried and concerned,” Biden said. “And there’s only one thing we know for sure: If those other hundred million people got vaccinated, we’d be in a very different world,” he said.
Air Force photo by Joshua J. Seybert