All military personnel must be vaccinated in the United States and Joe Biden has left the door open for mandatory national vaccination

The president of the United States, Joe biden, announced Monday that the US military must be vaccinated against the coronavirus and said it will force all workers in its government to demonstrate that they are immune if they do not want to undergo periodic tests before the advance of the Delta variant in the country.

Even the president did not rule out that he could impose a Mandatory vaccination mandatory at national level. “I don’t know yet,” he said.

The Pentagon has ordered all members of the U.S. military to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by mid-September, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a note.

Austin said vaccines will be mandatory in all wards before Sept. 15, or even sooner if Pfizer’s vaccine or others get full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to an official memorandum. Biden said in a statement he “strongly” supports the move.

More than 70% of the US military are already fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to Pentagon data.

The advancement of the Delta variant

Biden’s announcement coincides with a worrying increase in Covid-19 cases linked to the advancement of the Delta variant in the United States, which has forced health officials to cancel some reopening measures.

“We will ask all federal government employees to prove your vaccination status“Biden said during a White House speech.

Biden warned that employees who do not provide this proof will have to wear a mask to work and be tested for Covid-19 once a week, or even twice a week. They will also need to maintain physical distances and they will not be able to participate in official trips, reported EFE.

The measure will apply to more than 4 million federal workers in the United States and the rest of the world. Biden announced that similar standards will be implemented for all contractors under his administration.

“If you want to do business with the federal government, vaccinate your workers,” Biden said.

The announcement came at a time when the vaccination march has slowed considerably in the past two months., with 49% of the population vaccinated with the full regimen.

Compulsory vaccination?

In this context, Biden left the door open to the possibility of finding a way to impose compulsory vaccination nationally.

“The question is whether the federal government can order it across the country. I still don’t know, ”the president said.

For now, the president has indicated that states, towns and businesses have the power to impose a vaccination mandate in their jurisdictions, according to the Justice Department. In this sense, he said that “would like” it happens more and more. In addition, Biden proposed that states, territories and localities offer a reward of $ 100 to those who get vaccinated.

The idea of ​​compulsory vaccination is beginning to take hold in many companies. This week, companies like Google, Facebook and Lyft demanded that all workers return to their offices vaccinated.

The White House is increasingly worried about the advance of the Delta variant, considered more dangerous and which already represents 83% of sequenced casess in the country. This strain has led to a noticeable increase in infections and hospitalizations in recent weeks.

“It is an American tragedy. People are dying who would not have to die, and they will continue to die,” lamented the president.