Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Biden administration mulls COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers amidst surge of “cases” following widespread vaccinations
By Mary Villareal // Jul 30, 2021

President Joe Biden on Tuesday, July 27, told reporters that his administration may mandate federal workers to get coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines amidst a surge in cases caused by the highly infectious delta variant.

Brighteon.TV

"That's under consideration right now," Biden said. "But if you're not vaccinated, you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were."

The president's remarks came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended full vaccination and wearing of masks indoors in areas with high transmission cases.

According to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, new data shows that delta variant behaves "uniquely differently'' from its predecessors and could make vaccinated people infectious. The delta variant accounts for 80 percent of new infections in the U.S.

The White House reinstated its policy requiring all its employees to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status, an official confirmed.

This move followed a surge in the District of Columbia's case rate of 52 cases per 100,000 citizens, meeting the requirements for the "substantial" spread of the disease. The White House Correspondents Association is also requiring all its reporters to wear masks while at the building.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will require its health care professionals to be vaccinated as the infections more than doubled in the past month in its medical facilities. VA Secretary Denis McDonough said that mandating vaccines is the best way to keep veterans safe, especially as the delta variant spread across the country.

At a White House briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested that other federal agencies could follow the mandate by the VA, saying that vaccination is about public health and protecting patients.

"We are going to continue to look at ways to protect our workforce and to save more lives," said Psaki. (Related: Study: Pfizer vaccine less effective against COVID-19 Delta variant.)

New mask guidelines for vaccinated individuals

The CDC urged vaccinated Americans to wear their masks again, a sharp turnabout from its position in May that vaccinated people don't need to wear masks in indoor spaces.

In a report by the New York Times, the CDC recommended that those who have been vaccinated should resume wearing masks because the pandemic mutated into something very different since May. Confirmed cases are surging in different parts of the country with low vaccination rates, with more reports of breakthrough infections of the highly contagious delta variant in fully immunized individuals.

While vaccines are effective against the worst of the infection and conditions are not as bad as they were last winter, the new guidance does amount to an acknowledgment of the lagging vaccination efforts. According to federal data, fewer than 50 percent of the country remained unvaccinated.

"This is not a decision we at CDC have made lightly. This weighs heavily on me," Walensky said.

The regulations announced Tuesday mean that people who have been completely inoculated will need to wear masks again. Health officials are recommending masking regardless of community transmission.

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said that despite the effectiveness of the current vaccines, the virus is still spreading rapidly among the unvaccinated. "The risk is greater for everyone if we do not stop the ongoing spread of the virus and the delta variant."

In a news briefing, Walensky also said that there are occasions when vaccinated people infected with the delta variant can be contagious to others. "This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendation."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top pandemic adviser for the Biden administration, said that the CDC is correct in its recommendations, saying that "they’re dealing with new information that the science is providing."

Read more news and updates regarding COVID-19 at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

USAToday.com

NYTimes.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.