Biden to mandate vaccine for federal workers contractors

President Biden on Thursday plans to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for federal workers, just weeks after he offered testing and masking as an alternative for those leery of the shots, according to a report.

An executive order requiring vaccination will apply to executive-branch workers and contractors who do business with the federal government, The Associated Press reported.

The requirement is likely to spark a backlash from people who fear side effects from the novel vaccines.

Courts have upheld vaccine mandates, ruling there are adequate exemptions to satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act. But labor unions, a key part of Mr. Biden‘s political base, might contest the mandate because they have bargaining agreements that require negotiation over new rules.

“I’m not surprised that they’re going away from the testing option just because, looking at the logistics, it would be very, very, cumbersome,” said Stephanie Rapp-Tully, a partner at the Tully Rinckey PLLC law firm who is tracking the issue.

“On the whole, the vaccine mandate is still in accordance with federal law, with a couple of caveats,” she said. “I think there is going to be a large amount of litigation coming from the unions, and negotiating on collective bargaining agreements is going to be the forefront of the legal push on this mandate.”

Mr. Biden is tightening the rules as the delta variant threatens to upend the first-year agenda that he calls the “build back better” plan to recover from the bruising pandemic. It also comes on the heels of a disastrous exit from Afghanistan that shook confidence in the administration.

The mandate will be part of a multi-pronged plan to combat the virus, which is killing 1,500 Americans per day, filling hospitals in regions with low vaccination rates and could imperil much of the country in the colder months, particularly as schools reopen.

Mr. Biden is expected to urge private companies to follow his lead in mandating the shots while outlining new testing protocols and ways to protect schools.

Mr. Biden pledged in 2020 to “beat COVID-19” and lead a robust economic recovery, panning his predecessor’s efforts as bungling and catastrophic.

Things looked good over the late spring and summer as cities and towns reopened and Americans snapped up free and plentiful vaccines. But the vaccination push stalled at around 50% of the population and the advent of delta exploited those gaps in protection, sparking yet another crisis across the Sun Belt and raising fears of another winter spike elsewhere.

Some hiccups were self-inflicted.

Biden officials reversed mask guidance that allowed vaccinated persons to ditch their masks in May, citing troubling evidence that vaccinated persons could transmit the virus in some cases. And officials have argued over the need for booster shots, leading to whiplash among the American public and sowing potential doubts among the unvaccinated about what the shots can and cannot do.

The internet is full of falsehoods about the vaccines, such as the belief if scrambles a person’s genetic code even though the messenger-RNA instructions do not enter the cell’s nucleus, where DNA is stored.

Many holdouts say they are simply worried about the unknown, given the novelty of the technology and how quickly it was adapted into a COVID-19 vaccine last year.

The potential for side effects is the number-one reason given to pollsters tracking hesitancy. Many in the “wait and see” group say they just want more time to see how the shots affect people who’ve gotten them, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

KFF found that conversations with family members and trusted friends are often the most persuasive in getting people to roll up their sleeves.

The push to mandate the shots for federal workers is a “hurry-up-and-wait” situation in that employees won’t have the standing to sue until they face consequences for remaining unvaccinated, according to Ms. Rapp-Tully.

She said Mr. Biden and federal agency managers will need to explain how they plan to discipline workers who fail to comply, such as whether they would be nudged into telework, given a grace period to get the shot or be fired on the spot.

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