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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 3 May 2023

U.S. to lift most federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates next week

By ZEKE MILLER and Prevention. That was
AP White House Corre- the lowest weekly death
spondent toll from the virus since
WASHINGTON (AP) — The March 2020.
Biden administration will “COVID continues to be a
end most of the last re- problem,” Jha said. “But
maining federal COVID-19 our healthcare system or
vaccine requirements next public health resources are
week when the national far more able to respond
public health emergency to the threat that COVID
for the coronavirus ends, poses to our country and
the White House said Mon- do so in a way that does
day. not cause problems with
Vaccine requirements for access to care for Ameri-
federal workers and fed- cans.” He added, “Some
eral contractors, as well as of these emergency pow-
foreign air travelers to the ers are just not necessary in
U.S., will end May 11. The the same way anymore.”
government is also begin- More than 270 million peo-
ning the process of lifting ple in the U.S., or just over
shot requirements for Head 81% of the population,
Start educators, health- have received at least
care workers, and nonciti- Pfizer, left, and Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are readied for use at a clinic, Nov. 17, one dose of a COVID-19
zens at U.S. land borders. 2022, in Richmond, Va. vaccine, according to the
The requirements are Associated Press CDC.q
among the last vestiges had ruled out such require-
of some of the more co- ments before taking office
ercive measures taken by that January, but came to
the federal government embrace them to change
to promote vaccination the behavior of what he
as the deadly virus raged, viewed to be a stubborn
and their end marks the slice of the public that re-
latest display of how Presi- fused to be inoculated,
dent Joe Biden’s admin- saying they jeopardized
istration is moving to treat the lives of others and the
COVID-19 as a routine, en- nation’s economic recov-
demic illness. ery. “We’ve been patient.
“While I believe that these But our patience is wearing
vaccine mandates had thin, and your refusal has
a tremendous beneficial cost all of us,” Biden said
impact, we are now at a at the time. The unvacci-
point where we think that it nated minority “can cause
makes a lot of sense to pull a lot of damage, and they
these requirements down,” are.” Federal courts and
White House COVID-19 Congress have already
coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha rolled back Biden’s vac-
told The Associated Press cine requirements for large
on Monday. employers and military ser-
Deeply polarizing at the vicemembers.
time and the subject of Mandates remain for many
numerous legal challenges employees of the National
many of which were suc- Institutes of Health, Indian
cessful the vaccination re- Health Service and De-
quirements were imposed partment of Veterans Af-
by Biden in successive fairs which implemented
waves in late 2022 as the their own requirements for
nation’s vaccination rate healthcare staff and others
plateaued even amid the independent of the White
emergence of new, more House will remain while
transmissible variants of those agencies review
COVID-19. More than 100 their own requirements,
million people at one time the administration said.
were covered by Biden’s Over 1.13 million people in
sweeping mandates, the U.S. have died of CO-
which he announced on VID-19 since the pandemic
Sept. 9, 2021, as the delta began more than three
variant of the virus was sick- years ago, including 1,052
ening more people than at people in the week ending
any time up to that point April 26, according to the
in the pandemic. Biden Centers for Disease Control