US unveils COVID vaccine mandates for companies with 100+ employees

United States President Joe Biden, in another push for COVID-19 vaccines to curb the spread of the disease in the country, mandated the shots for companies that employ more than 100 people, according to US media reports.

The federal vaccine requirement will impact millions of Americans as the Delta variant of the coronavirus plagues the United States and has been killing thousands every week, according to reports from Associated Press.

The new mandate will give a choice, to those who fall under the new requirement, of either getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested every week.

Roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid also will have to be fully vaccinated, according to Associated Press reports.

US President Joe Biden is to sign an executive order to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for employees of the government’s executive branch. The executive order, which also includes those who do business with the federal government, does not provide an option to opt out of the vaccine requirement and get tested instead.

Biden was to announce the new requirements in a Thursday afternoon address from the White House as part of a new “action plan” to address the latest rise in coronavirus cases and the stagnating pace of COVID-19 shots that has raised doubts among the public over his handling of the pandemic.

In addition to the vaccination requirements, Biden is moving to double federal fines for airline passengers who refuse to wear masks on flights or to maintain face-covering requirements on federal property in accordance with United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

According to reports from Associated Press, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, the Indian Health Service, and the National Institutes of Health have previously announced vaccine requirements for much of their staffs, and the Pentagon moved last month to require all service members to get vaccinated.

(With AP inputs)