Finally

Finally, America is mandating that employers have their employees vaccinated, and is getting tough against the anti-jabs with other actions (see details below).  I see this as a very good move. One that will benefit Americans and our economy.

Over the past 18 months American deaths due to COVID have averaged 1187 per day.  Deaths due to the flu averages 10 per day.

September 9, 2021

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The New York Times

By Jonathan Wolfe

U.S. states with low vaccination rates are seeing sharp spikes in children with Covid-19, as the country hit a record 250,000 new child virus cases in the past week. Qantas became one of the first airlines to require that international passengers be vaccinated. A fire at a coronavirus hospital in North Macedonia killed at least 14. Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and a vaccine tracker.

Biden’s vaccine mandates

In a speech delivered this afternoon from the White House, President Biden outlined an aggressive plan to use the full force of his presidency to require millions of American workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“The path ahead, even with the Delta variant, is not nearly as bad as last winter,” Biden said. “But what makes it incredibly more frustrating is that we have the tools to combat Covid-19, and a distinct minority of Americans, supported by a distinct minority of elected officials, are keeping us from turning the corner.”

The executive orders and federal rules — the most expansive actions Biden has taken to control the pandemic since he assumed the presidency — will require or prod about 80 percent of the American work force to get vaccinated.

“We’ve been patient,” Biden added. “But our patience is wearing thin and the refusal has cost all of us.”

In perhaps the most far-reaching move, Biden will instruct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to require all businesses with 100 or more workers to have their employees get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

The White House will also require nearly all federal employees and contractors, totaling about 4 million people, to get vaccinated or face disciplinary measures.

Other actions include:

Requiring that companies offer workers paid time off to get vaccinated.

Requiring that all health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid vaccinate their roughly 17 million employees. Asking large entertainment venues to require proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test for entry. Using the Defense Production Act to ramp up the production of rapid testing kits and personal protective equipment.

The new rules are part of an aggressive new plan that will also put more pressure on private businesses, states and schools to require vaccines. They also signal a new phase for vaccine mandates in the U.S. in which doses are required for access to many areas of public life.

Earlier in the day, Los Angeles became the first major school district in the U.S. to mandate coronavirus vaccines for students 12 and older who are attending class in person. The measure, which passed the district’s Board of Education with broad support, requires students to get their first vaccine dose by Nov. 21 and their second by Dec. 19.

When it comes to company mandates, OSHA’s authority does not mean it won’t face pushback or lawsuits challenging the order. And enforcement may be a challenge, since there is no national system for employers to track or report vaccination status.

A number of large employers, ranging from CVS Health to Goldman Sachs to Chevron, have already put in place some form of vaccine mandate.

Still, many of these mandates are not comprehensive. Companies like Walmart and Citigroup have mandates for their corporate employees, but not for frontline workers in stores or at branches. Many companies are also dealing with labor shortages and varying levels of vaccine hesitancy among workers.