American Medical Association calls on public and private sectors to tax vaccines

The American Medical Association (AMA) on Tuesday urged the public and private sectors to demand vaccination against COVID-19, saying the move is essential to bring the pandemic under control.

The call comes a day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved Pfizer’s vaccine, a step that should see more companies pull the trigger to make vaccination of their employees mandatory.

WADA, the country’s leading group of doctors, is seeking to speed up this process.

“The simple fact is that unless a significant percentage of our population is vaccinated against COVID-19 – we may be forced to fight this virus for many more months or even years to come,” said WADA President Gerald Harmon in a statement. “Now is the time for the public and private sectors to come together, listen to the science and make vaccination mandatory.”

The statement joins intensified calls from President BidenJoe Biden House Democrats hold key budget vote for Tuesday Biden envoy calls on North Korea to resume nuclear talks Biden to decide on extension of Afghan troop withdrawal in next 24 hours: MORE report, who spoke out after FDA approval on Monday and called on employers to impose vaccines on their workers as well.

“Today, I am calling on more private sector companies to increase vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people,” Biden said. “If you are a business, nonprofit, state, or local leader, waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I am now asking you to do so. “

WADA argued that other measures simply to incentivize vaccination, rather than warrants, have not resulted in the high vaccination rates needed to tame the highly transmissible delta variant.

“These incentives haven’t got us where we need to be,” Harmon said. “With the highly transmissible, more virulent delta variant wreaking havoc and emergency departments once again overwhelmed, doctors and all frontline healthcare workers need help.”

He added that healthcare workers “today continue to risk our own safety and well-being – putting our families at risk – to treat most unvaccinated people with COVID-19.”

“Help us win this fight, follow the science and end this pandemic by demanding vaccination,” he said.