Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 9-17-21

Political
Biden Administration Sets November Deadline For Federal Employee Vaccine Mandate
Biden Wants More People To
Federal employees have until Nov. 22 to be fully vac- cinated in accordance with the president’s new mandate, the Biden administration said Monday.
The Safer Federal Work- force Task Force, led by the White House COVID-19 Re- sponse Team, the Office of Personnel Management and General Services Administra- tion, offered up a few more details on what agencies and employees should expect from the president’s new vac- cine executive order.
“Federal executive branch employees must be fully vac- cinated, except in limited cir- cumstances where an employee is legally entitled to a reasonable accommoda- tion,” the task force said in a series of updated “model safety principles” released Monday. “Agencies must work expeditiously so that their employees are fully vac-
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
cinated as quickly as possible and by no later than Nov. 22, 2021.”
The task force said it’s preparing additional guid- ance on how agencies should implement the president’s new executive order and will
issue it “soon.”
The executive order itself,
which President Joe Biden signed last Thursday, gave the task force seven days to issue guidance on how agencies should imple- ment the new vaccine man- date.
Federal agencies are no longer required to stand up testing programs for unvacci- nated employees and onsite contractors, although they can if they choose, the task force said.
Because COVID-19 vacci- nation is now a requirement, employees will take duty time to receive their doses. Agencies should no longer grant additional paid time off for individuals to receive a vaccine, the task force said.
Employees who can’t re- ceive a vaccine within their usual work hours can do so on overtime, the administra- tion said.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dur- ing an address focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, Presi- dent Joe Biden said he wants more Americans to have access to affordable at-home testing amid the fight against the surge of the delta variant.
“I’ll use the Defense Produc- tion Act to increase production of rapid tests, including those that you can use at home,” Biden said. “While that pro- duction is ramping up, my ad- ministration has worked with top retailers like Walmart, Ama- zon and Kroger ... we’re an- nouncing that no later than next week, each of these outlets will start to sell at-home rapid test kits at-cost for the next three months.”
Those price cuts had already gone into place Friday at Wal- mart and Amazon.
News4Jax found the Bi- naxNow antigen test on Wal- mart’s website, originally sold for $23.97, was on Friday listed at $14.
However, the tests were out of stock online and not available for pick up.
We found another at home
zprice cut as well. Originally $24.99, but listed for $14.
However, it also was out of stock.
The only tests we found available to buy on Friday was on Amazon.
It’s an FDA authorized PCR test collection kit that promises results in 24 hours from a lab, listed for $36.99.
The description indicated this is the at-cost price, saying this test is “currently priced to in- crease access to affordable, high-quality COVID-19 tests.”
However, if you can’t get your hands on one of these at- home tests right now, Biden says he will also increase access.
“We’ll also expand — expand free testing at 10,000 pharma- cies around the country. And we’ll commit — we’re commit- ting $2 billion to purchase nearly 300 million rapid tests for distribution to community health centers, food banks, schools, so that every American, no matter their income, can ac- cess free and convenient tests.”
Outlined details of that plan and who is getting those tests have not yet been released.
Gov. DeSantis Threatens Heavy Fines For Local Government That Impose Vaccine Mandates
Obama Reflects On 20th Anniversary
Have Access To Affordable
At-Home COVID Testing
Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to impose hefty fines on city and county gov- ernments that require their employees be vaccinated against COVID.
DeSantis said Monday that his state would fine the local governments $5,000 for each employee that is forced to get a vaccine in order to continue working. President Joe Biden responded by saying, 'This is not a game."
The threat stems from a law DeSantis signed in May that bans “governmental entities in Florida from requiring proof of vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from their operations," his office said. "Additionally, the law im- poses a $5,000 fine per viola- tion for any entity, including government entities, that asks
GOV. RON DESANTIS
to see proof of vaccination in Florida.”
The state is preparing to begin enforcing the law on Thursday.
DeSantis said Monday that requirements in the city of
Gainesville and Orange and Leon counties that workers must be vaccinated or risk get- ting fired “should alarm Floridians, and raises impor- tant questions.”
“This is political, it’s about using government power to control,” he said. “We’re going to protect these jobs, we’re going to protect livelihoods and we’re going to protect fam- ilies.”
The governor warned that these mandates will result in “millions and millions of dol- lars potentially in fines.”
DeSantis’ administration has already been battling school mask mandates. A Florida appeals court late last week allowed the state to con- tinue implementing an order banning mask requirements in schools while the issue is under review.
Barack Obama issued a statement Saturday morning, reflecting on the 20th anniver- sary of the September 11 ter- rorist attacks.
“Today we honor the nearly 3,000 men, women, and chil- dren who died on September 11, 2001, and even more who lost their lives in service to our country in the two decades since,” Obama wrote in an In- stagram post. “We reaffirm our commitment to keep a sa- cred trust with their families — including the children who lost parents, and who have demon- strated such extraordinary re- silience. But this anniversary is also about reflecting on what we’ve learned in the 20 years since that awful morning.”
At the time of the attacks, Obama was serving as a state senator in Illinois. Nearly ten years later, in May 2011, he was in the middle of his first term as president when U. S. forces captured and killed Osama Bin Laden.
“Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen the same courage and self-
BARACK OBAMA
lessness on display again and again,” Obama said. “We saw it a decade ago when, after years of persistence, our mili- tary brought justice to Osama bin Laden. And we’re seeing it today — in the doctors and nurses, bone tired, doing what they can to save lives; the serv- ice members, some of whom weren’t even born 20 years ago, putting themselves at risk to save Americans and help refugees find a better life; the first responders battling roar- ing fires and rising waters to bring families to safety. They represent what is best in Amer- ica, and what can and should bring us together.”
Of 9/11: ‘Let’s Never Forget’
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