A3
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2021
Biden mandates vaccines for large employers
By ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In his most forceful
pandemic actions and words, President Joe
Biden on Thursday ordered sweeping new
federal vaccine requirements for as many
as 100 million Americans — private-sector
employees as well as health care workers and
federal contractors — in an all-out eff ort to
curb the surging COVID-19 delta variant.
Speaking at the White House, Biden
sharply criticized the tens of millions of Amer-
icans who are not yet vaccinated, despite
months of availability and incentives.
“We’ve been patient. But our patience is
wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all
of us,” he said, all but biting off his words.
The unvaccinated minority “can cause a lot of
damage, and they are.”
Republican leaders — and some union
chiefs, too — said Biden was going too far in
trying to muscle private companies and work-
ers, a certain sign of legal challenges to come.
Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina
said in a statement that “Biden and the radi-
cal Democrats (have) thumbed their noses at
the Constitution,” while American Federation
of Government Employees National Presi-
dent Everett Kelley insisted that “changes like
this should be negotiated with our bargaining
units where appropriate.”
On the other hand, there were strong words
of praise for Biden’s eff orts to get the nation
vaccinated from the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the National Association of Manufac-
turers and the Business Roundtable — though
no direct mention of his mandate for private
companies.
The expansive rules mandate that all
employers with more than 100 work-
ers require them to be vaccinated or test for
the virus weekly, aff ecting about 80 mil-
lion Americans. And the roughly 17 million
workers at health facilities that receive fed-
eral Medicare or Medicaid also will have to
be fully vaccinated.
Biden is also requiring vaccination for
employees of the executive branch and con-
tractors who do business with the federal gov-
ernment — with no option to test out. That
covers several million more workers.
Biden announced 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.
Just two months ago Biden prematurely
declared the nation’s “independence” from
the virus. Now, despite more than 208 mil-
lion Americans having at least one dose of the
vaccines, the U.S. is seeing about 300% more
new COVID-19 infections a day, about two-
and-a-half times more hospitalizations, and
Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered new federal vaccine requirements for as many as 100
million Americans.
nearly twice the number of deaths compared
to the same time last year. Some 80 million
people remain unvaccinated.
“We are in the tough stretch and it could
last for a while,” Biden said.
After months of using promotions to drive
the vaccination rate, Biden is taking a much
fi rmer hand, as he blames people who have
not yet received shots for the sharp rise in
cases killing more than 1,000 people per day
and imperiling a fragile economic rebound.
In addition to the vaccination requirements,
Biden moved to double federal fi nes for air-
line passengers who refuse to wear masks on
fl ights or to maintain face covering require-
ments on federal property in accordance with
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion guidelines.
He announced that the government will
work to increase the supply of virus tests, and
that the White House has secured concessions
from retailers including Walmart, Amazon
and Kroger to sell at-home testing kits at cost
beginning this week.
The administration is also sending addi-
tional federal support to assist schools in
safely operating, including additional funding
for testing. And Biden called for large enter-
tainment venues and arenas to require vacci-
nations or proof of a negative test for entry.
The requirement for large companies to
mandate vaccinations or weekly testing for
employees will be enacted through a forth-
coming rule from the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration that carries penal-
ties of $14,000 per violation, an administra-
tion offi cial said.
The rule will require that large companies
provide paid time off for vaccination.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services will extend a vaccination
requirement issued earlier this summer — for
nursing home staff — to other health care set-
tings including hospitals, home-health agen-
cies and dialysis centers.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services will require vaccinations
in Head Start Programs, as well as schools
run by the U.S. Department of Defense and
Bureau of Indian Education, aff ecting about
300,000 employees.
Biden’s order for executive branch workers
and contractors includes exceptions for work-
ers seeking religious or medical exemptions
from vaccination, according to press secretary
Jen Psaki. Federal workers who don’t com-
ply will be referred to their agencies’ human
resources departments for counseling and dis-
cipline, to include potential termination.
An AP-NORC poll conducted in August
found 55% of Americans in favor of requir-
ing government workers to be fully vacci-
nated, compared with 21% opposed. Simi-
lar majorities also backed vaccine mandates
for health care workers, teachers working at
K-12 schools and workers who interact with
the public, as at restaurants and stores.
Biden has encouraged COVID-19 vaccine
requirements in settings like schools, work-
places and university campuses. On Thursday,
the Los Angeles Board of Education voted to
require all students 12 and older to be fully
vaccinated in the the nation’s second-largest
school district.
Walmart, the nation’s largest private
employer, said in late July it was requiring
all workers at its headquarters in Benton-
ville, Arkansas, as well as its managers who
travel within the U.S., to be vaccinated against
COVID-19 by Oct. 4. But the company had
stopped short of requiring shots for its front-
line workers.
CVS Health said in late August it would
require certain employees who interact with
patients to be fully vaccinated by the end of
October. That includes nurses, care managers
and pharmacists.
In the government, several federal agen-
cies have previously announced vaccine
requirements for much of their staff s, partic-
ularly those in health care roles like the U.S.
Department of Veterans Aff airs, and the Pen-
tagon moved last month to require all service
members to get vaccinated. Combined, the
White House estimates those requirements
cover 2.5 million Americans. Thursday’s
order is expected to aff ect nearly 2 million
more federal workers and potentially millions
of contractors.
Biden’s measures should help, but what’s
really needed is a change in mindset for many
people, said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean
at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health in Baltimore.
“There is an aspect to this now that has to
do with our country being so divided,” said
Sharfstein. “This has become so politicized
that people can’t see the value of a vaccination
that can save their lives. Our own divisions
are preventing us from ending a pandemic.”
More than 177 million Americans are fully
vaccinated against the coronavirus, but con-
fi rmed cases have shot up in recent weeks
to an average of about 140,000 per day with
on average about 1,000 deaths, according to
data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Most of the spread — and the vast major-
ity of severe illness and death — is occur-
ring among those not yet fully vaccinated.
So-called breakthrough infections in vac-
cinated people occur, but tend to be far less
dangerous.
Federal offi cials are moving ahead with
plans to begin administering booster shots
of the mRNA vaccines to bolster protection
against the more transmissible delta variant.
Last month Biden announced plans to make
them available beginning Sept. 20, but only
the Pfi zer vaccine will likely have received
regulatory approval for a third dose by that
time.
Offi cials are aiming to administer the
booster shots about eight months after the sec-
ond dose of the two-dose vaccines.
Associated Press writers Anne D’Innocen-
zio, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Hannah
Fingerhut contributed to this report.
CLATSOP CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)
RAFFLE BENEFIT A SUCCESS
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are
ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They
volunteer their time to advocate for the best interests
of children who have suffered neglect or abuse and
are now in foster care. The Clatsop CASA Program
currently supports 40 volunteers who give of
themselves to improve the lives of children.
We fundraise money for advocacy services for
children and youth in foster care. Clatsop CASA
Program relies on community support to recruit,
train, and supervise volunteers. We could not do this
important work without the support of our community,
generous sponsors, donors, and volunteers! Thanks to
you all, the CASA raffle was a success!
The following businesses gave of their time, services,
and support. Thank you for believing in our mission
and in our community!
Allure Spa & Wellness
Arnie’s Café
A-Town Coffee
Bridgewater Bistro
Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
Chocolate Café
Columbia River Maritime Museum
Forager’s
Fort George Brewery
Kit’s Apothecary
Mo’s Seafood And Chowder
Nw Style Loft
Ocd Performance Dba Seaside Muffler & Offroad
Pacific Nw Automotive
Riki Leona Brows
Salon Boheme
Seaside Aquarium
Seaside Carousel Mall
Trails End Recovery
Umbrella Engraving
Vegabond 3-d Innovation Lab
Worker’s Tavern