President Joe Biden, in brief remarks on the White House campus, praised corporations and local governments for instituting vaccine requirements, but still called the number of those who did not receive Covid-19 injections as “unacceptably high. “.
“We have dropped to 66 million people, still an unacceptably high number, of unvaccinated people, from almost 100 million in July,” Biden said, speaking from the South Court Auditorium.
“Now is not the time to give in. We have much more to do. We are in a very critical period as we work to get around the corner of Covid 19, “he said.
Biden said the Labor Department will soon issue a rule that would require companies with 100 or more employees to set vaccine requirements. Companies would have to have employees who certify to be vaccinated to undergo weekly tests. The White House previously announced the proposed policy, but it had not yet been drafted as a regulation.
“Every day, we see companies setting vaccination requirements, and growing information shows that they work,” Biden said, saying that vaccination rates have increased for more than 90 of the workforce.
“Let’s be clear: vaccination requirements shouldn’t be another issue that divides us. That is why we continue to fight the misinformation that exists. “
He cited the case of Southwest Airlines, which earlier this week rejected claims that vaccine mandates contributed to flight disruptions. Biden has previously cited The Walt Disney Co. and Netflix for vaccine requirements, and has signaled citing Fox News policy. Last week, however, he identified that Fox’s policy requires vaccinations for all of its employees. The Fox Corp. However, the policy is for employees to report their status to the company or, if they are not vaccinated, undergo daily testing.
Biden said the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing data on the drivers of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. If approved, it will mean that all three vaccines will be available for boosters.
He also said that the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control would determine in the coming weeks whether to authorize the vaccines for children ages 5 to 11. “We are ready,” Biden said.
Biden also touted progress in the fight against the Delta variant, as cases and hospitalizations drop after a resurgence in the summer.