White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has dismissed as “misinformation” the use of the term “vaccine mandate” when applied to the new COVID-19 inoculation policies recently announced by the Joe Biden administration. Jean-Pierre referred to the policy, set to take effect on 4 January, as a “vaccination requirement”.
Announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the rules are tailored to get millions of Americans vaccinated while “preventing hospitalisation and saving lives, strengthening the economy”.
Weighing in on the fact that 26 Republican-led states are suing to halt the requirement, estimated to cover about 84 million of the 161 million people comprising the US labour force, the WH Deputy Press Secretary said:
“As for the legal side of this, let me be crystal clear to avoid what appears to be possible misinformation or disinformation around the emergency temporary standard being a ‘vaccine mandate.’ That would be on its face incorrect,” Jean-Pierre said at the daily White House press briefing.
When asked at the press conference about the current estimate, percentage-wise, for Americans to be vaccinated, the WH Deputy Press Secretary, responded by saying it was “not our focus.”
“I get wanting to get a sense of the herd immunity. But that is not our focus right now. Our focus is to make sure that we do everything we can to get people vaccinated,” Jean-Pierre said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, 80.4 percent of US adults have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine jab, as have 78.5 percent of people older than 12 and 67.1 percent of the total US population
New Jab Policy
OSHA on 4 November announced the details of a requirement for employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis.
The rule that is set to cover 84 million employees will also require that these employers provide paid-time for employees to get vaccinated, and ensure all unvaccinated workers wear a face mask in the workplace.
Furthermore, CMS at the Department of Health and Human Services will require that health care workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid are fully vaccinated. This rule applies to more than 17 million workers at approximately 76,000 health care facilities, including hospitals and long-term care facilities.
A woman screams as people and teachers protest against New York City mandated vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in front of the United States Court in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 12, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar
© REUTERS / MIKE SEGAR
Heavy fines of nearly $14,000 per violation are to befall firms that fail to comply with the new policies.
Earlier, President Biden signed an executive order dated 9 September requiring federal contractors to mandate vaccinations by 8 December.
After contractors sought more details on how to implement the rules, the White House released the federal contractor guidance on 1 November. It stated that the contractors will have flexibility to determine how they enforce the vaccination requirements for workers who refuse to be vaccinated.
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator since 2021, Jeff Zients expected federal agencies and contractors "will follow their standard HR processes and that for any of the probably relatively small percent of employees that are not in compliance they'll go through education, counselling, accommodations and then enforcement".
He added:
"We’re creating flexibility within the system … There is not a cliff here."
After attorneys general of an array of US states, including Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, and Kentucky, announced their intention to sue the Biden administration over the new COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis also pledged to launch a legal attack against the "unconstitutional" and "illegal" mandate for private sector workers.
Speaking to reporters on 4 November, DeSantis said that Florida would join Alabama, Georgia, and several other states in a preemptive legal challenge against the new mandate.
“This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a court filing in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of 11 states.