Tens of millions of American employees owe get vaccinated against Covid-19 before January 4 to avoid having to undergo regular testing, the administration of President Joe Biden announced Thursday.
The obligation to vaccinate for employees of companies of more than 100 people, health workers and employees of federal agency contractors is one of the most radical measures taken by the United States government in an attempt to stop an epidemic that is undermining the Economic recovery.
“There is the same deadline of January 4, 2022 for these three categories. ”On that day, employees should have received their last dose of vaccine or begin to undergo at least one test per week, a senior US official said Thursday.
Biden unveiled the measure, which is supposed to affect more than two-thirds of the nation’s workforce, in September during a speech at the White House. According to him, it is the opportunity to “turn the page” of the coronavirus and pressure millions of Americans who still refuse to get vaccinated.
Several companies, including the meat giant Tyson Foods or the airline United Airlines, had already prepared the ground by imposing these obligations on their employees since the end of September.
The most recent, the automaker Ford, required that its 32,000 employees be vaccinated before December 8 except in the case of religious or medical exemption, according to several US media.
Save lifes
However, in the country of individual freedoms, the measure unleashes criticism from the Republican opposition, which denounces a “dictatorship.”
“The point is that mandatory vaccinations work“said the senior US official, predicting that” they would lead to millions of Americans getting vaccinated, protecting workers, saving lives, strengthening our economy and helping accelerate our exit from this pandemic. “
Driven since the summer by the delta variant, the pandemic has already killed 750,000 people in United States.
Biden, elected to head the world’s leading economic power almost a year ago, has made the fight against Covid-19 one of the pillars of his presidency.
But after a successful start to the vaccination campaign, it collapsed, triggering the spread of the virus and partially halting the economic recovery promised by the Democratic leader.
States vs. Washington
Convincing reluctant adults to receive the vaccine is not an easy task, especially since several states in the country, including Texas, have already banned vaccination obligations in their territory.
In a survey published last month by the Society for Human Resource Management, 90% of the employers surveyed found it difficult to implement mandatory vaccination.
The White House warned that “the new rules override any inconsistent state or local laws, including laws that prohibit or limit an employer’s authority to require vaccinations, masks or tests.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Attorney, Seema Nanda, anticipated that the government “will consider whether to extend the rule to smaller companies.”
Workers who refuse to follow the regulations will not be exempt from disciplinary action by their company, said Jim Fredrick of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
David French of the National Retail Federation cautioned that “the Biden administration has chosen to declare an ’emergency’ and impose onerous new requirements on retailers during the crucial holiday shopping season.”
The Union of Food and Commerce Workers (UFCW), whose members work in high-risk Covid-19 environments such as supermarkets and meatpacking plants, called the mandates a good first step, but said the Employers should do more to protect workers.
“Ensuring workers have a voice in policies on Covid and workplace safety is critical to ensuring that these measures are implemented fairly and building the trust and strong consensus necessary for these safeguards to be effective,” suggested the union president, Marc Perrone.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx