President Joe Biden answers a question from the press as he holds a mask upon arrival on Air Force One at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, July 28, 2021, as he travels to speak on the economy.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Some state and regional leaders have already put new vaccine protocols in place. California and New York announced earlier this week that they will require most state employees to either get vaccinated or face mandatory weekly Covid testing.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier Thursday reimposed a requirement that masks be worn indoors, a measure that had been lifted months earlier, when new cases and deaths from Covid were on the decline.
Some major private corporations, such as Facebook and Google, are also making vaccination mandatory in order for employees in the U.S. to return to work.
In its own buildings, the federal government is requiring that every employee and onsite contractor “attest,” or confirm, their vaccination status, according to the White House.
Those who do not will be required to wear a mask on the job, regardless of their location, and must comply with Covid testing once or twice per week, the White House said.
They will also have to be physically distanced from all other employees and visitors, and they may face restrictions on official travel, according to the fact sheet.
The Biden administration had previously discouraged federal agencies from requiring vaccination for on-site work.
The president in May had also proclaimed that, “If you’ve been vaccinated, you don’t have to wear your mask.”
But after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its guidance on wearing masks indoors, Biden, who is fully vaccinated, said he would follow the agency’s recommendations.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
