President Joe Biden's administration is taking steps to prepare for enforcement of COVID-19 vaccination mandates announced in September.
On Sept. 9, President Biden unveiled his administration's multipronged pandemic approach, which includes a requirement that all private employers with 100 or more employees ensure their staff are fully vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. The administration also is requiring federal executive branch workers and employees of contractors that do business with the federal government to be vaccinated, with limited medical and religious exemptions.
Additionally, CMS said it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for more than 17 million healthcare workers at Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and in other healthcare settings.
Here are seven details about the mandates and related plans:
Federal workers, contractors
1. Jeff Zients, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator, suggested flexibility Oct. 27 in the vaccination deadline for federal executive branch workers and employees of contractors that do business with the federal government, according to The Washington Post.
2. The vaccination deadline for federal employees is Nov. 22, while the deadline for contractors is Dec. 8. Even after those dates, Mr. Zients said federal agencies and contractors should educate, counsel and accommodate unvaccinated workers to convince them to get vaccinated before firing them, the Post reported.
Businesses
3. The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is tasked with issuing an emergency temporary standard to implement the requirement. On Oct. 12, in a statement shared with Becker's, OSHA announced that as part of the regulatory review process, the agency submitted the initial text of the emergency temporary standard to the Office of Management and Budget.
4. White House officials at the Office of Management and Budget have met with labor unions, industry lobbyists and others amid the federal government's final review of the mandate expected to apply to more than 80 million workers in private sector businesses, according to CNBC. The news channel reported that some business groups are concerned the mandate could worsen labor shortages and supply chain problems and are asking the White House to delay the rule until after the holiday season.
5. U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., also introduced a bill Oct. 26 that would prohibit the enforcement of a government vaccination mandate for businesses. A news release from his office says the bill would also prohibit the government from fining businesses who violate the mandate. The bill was assigned to the House Committe on Education and Labor, but no further action has been taken, according to congress.gov.
Healthcare facilities
6. The government's requirement for healthcare workers applies to hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings and home health agencies. It expands on the CMS announcement Aug. 18 that nursing homes must have staff vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for receiving federal funds.
7. CMS is collaborating with OSHA on the guidelines and is slated to release them in late October, according to Home Health Care News. A CMS spokesperson told the publication, "There will be a 60-day comment period that will begin when the regulation is published in the Federal Register for the public to share their feedback with CMS."