Covid: US makes it compulsory for private firm workers to get vaccinated or tested from January
The mandate applies to organisations that have employed more than 100 people, and will cover about 84 million employees.
The United States administration on Thursday announced that workers at large companies will either have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be tested weekly from January 4.
The mandate applies to organisations that have employed more than 100 people, and will cover about 84 million employees.
The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the mandate. The rules do not require employers to pay for the vaccines.
However, employers need to provide paid leave to employees to get themselves vaccinated, and that unvaccinated employees wear a mask in the workplace.
Further, the United States administration issued regulations requiring all healthcare workers at facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding to be vaccinated by January 4. The rule will apply to more than 17 million workers.
While Medicare is an insurance programme for senior citizens, Medicaid is an assistance programme for low-income people.
“As detailed in a recent White House report, vaccination requirements work and are good for the economy,” the White House said in a fact sheet. “Vaccination requirements have increased vaccination rates by more than 20 percentage points – to over 90 percent – across a wide range of businesses and organizations.”
United States President Joe Biden had first unveiled plans to enforce such mandates on employers in September. However, executives representing companies, industry groups, logistics companies and other organisations had requested the government to delay the deadline until after the new year, the agency reported.
Biden on Thursday said that there was a simple choice between inoculating more people or prolonging the pandemic, AP reported.
“While I would have much preferred that requirements not become necessary, too many people remain unvaccinated for us to get out of this pandemic for good,” he said.
Several large companies have not yet mandated its employees to get vaccinated, including the country’s largest employer Walmart and financial services firm JP Morgan Chase, The New York Times noted.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has estimated that 31.7 million workers covered by the mandate for companies are currently not vaccinated, according to Reuters.
