WASHINGTON — As many as 100 million Americans will feel the effects of new federal requirements issued by President Joe Biden to increase the number of vaccinations amid the battle against the growing spread of the delta variant.
The president announced that employers with more than 100 workers are required to have vaccinations or tests for COVID-19 every week, which would impact about 80 million people in the country. Roughly 17 million employees at health centers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid must also be fully vaccinated.
Another executive order would mandate vaccines to most federal employees under the executive branch and contractors who do business with the government. There would be no option to test out.
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) responded to the decision prior to Biden's announcement saying there should be a bargaining process take place before the implementation. AFL-CIO National President Everett Kelley said the group has always strongly encouraged employees to take the vaccine.
"Since President Biden made his first major announcement about changing COVID-19 protocols for the federal workforce in response to the surging Delta variant, we have said that changes like this should be negotiated with our bargaining units where appropriate," Kelley said. "Put simply, workers deserve a voice in their working conditions."
AFGE is considered the largest federal employee union which represents 700,000 workers.
The more strict approach comes as the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine. Biden already pushed federal employees to receive the vaccine while allowing those refused the shots to undergo regular COVID-19 testing.
Federal employees have 75 days to be fully vaccinated or go through an HR process which would include counseling and "progressive disciplinary action," according to the White House.
Federal contractor David Stevens told WUSA9 in his personal opinion, he takes no issue with the federal requirements despite arguments that they are a government overreach that removes the decision from the individual.
"There's also the personal responsibility, so people are advocating for the right to be able to infect other people and if I say that it seems I'm infringing on your liberties so it's not my liberty not to get the shot but it's my liberty not to give it somebody else so in that sense I agree with it," Stevens said.
The vaccine mandate has been a topic of political debate among Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin.
McAuliffe agreed with the president and said, "We have more than 140,000 federal employees in Virginia, and ensuring that every single one of them who is eligible is fully vaccinated puts us one step closer towards defeating this virus."
Youngkin's campaign spokesperson said, "he made the choice to get vaccinated himself and he encourages people to get the vaccine, but it should be left to the individual to make the decision.”
Politicians including Senator Mark Warner also agreed with the mandates.