Biden Administration Announces Vaccine Requirement for Federal Employees
On Thursday afternoon, the Biden administration announced a requirement that all federal employees and contractors show proof of vaccination or submit to regular COVID-19 tests, wear masks, and physically distance from others while at work. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant is raising concerns about the transmissibility of the virus and keeping the workplace safe.
According to a senior Biden administration official, the White House conducted a policy review prior to issuing the decision. An analysis from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found that in 2020, there were over 4.2 million federal workers in the United States, all of whom would be affected by this vaccine mandate.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had already required vaccinations for its healthcare workers- the first federal agency to do so. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reversed their masking guidelines on July 27 and said masks should be worn indoors in areas with high coronavirus transmission rates, White House staffers, reporters, and employees began wearing masks again.
Masks will also be required again at the U.S. House. In the Senate, masks are recommended but not required.
Executive Director Chad Hooper of the Professional Managers Association (PMA) said of the new mandate, “We implore all our members, their staff, and all eligible Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible. However, a vaccination mandate would be the first of its kind if imposed upon the entire workforce.”
President Biden suggested that unvaccinated Americans were creating confusion and prolonging the need for a mask mandate. He said on July 27, “The more we learn, the more we learn about this virus and the delta variation, the more we have to be worried and concerned. And there’s only one thing we know for sure — if those other 100 million people got vaccinated, we’d be in a very different world.”
A number of federal employee groups have spoken out about the federal vaccination requirement. Larry Cosme, President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), explained, “As an association representing those men and women charged with protecting the Constitutional rights of all Americans, including the right to privacy and choice, we are concerned by any move that would mandate the COVID-19 vaccine among federal employees.” He concluded, “Make no mistake, we support being vaccinated as the most effective path and means to eliminate the COVID-19 virus but not at the cost of our Constitutional rights that we protect and hold as self-evident.”
FEDmanager will continue to report on the vaccine requirement as updates occur.
