Joe Biden has urged all U.S. companies on Monday to require that employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus following FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
“I am calling on more countries…more companies, I should say, in the private sector to step up the vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people,” Biden stated during a press conference.
“If you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, a state or local leader who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that requiring,” he continued. “Do what I did last month, require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements.”
After calling on companies to implement vaccine mandates, Biden praised the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine as “perfectly safe” in a video posted Monday night to Twitter.
“So if you’ve been waiting for that approval to get your vaccine, get it today,” Biden added. “Get the vaccine today.”
Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., immediately released a statement on Monday showing great support for the vaccine after the agency revealed they have approved it.
“While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.” said Woodcock.
Even before the vaccine received full FDA approval, many large corporations began requiring their employees to take the shot out of fear of the Delta variant. This includes companies such as Citigroup, Facebook, McDonald’s Corporation, Google, Goldman Sachs, and many more, Fox News reported.
Now that the Pfizer shot is approved, Biden seems to have a renewed determination to push vaccine mandates which have already taken effect for millions of Americans. However, he is drawing intense scrutiny for what many Americans believe is government overreach.
One vocal critic of the vaccine mandates, is Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has attempted to stop the government from forcing COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of U.S. service members.
On Monday, Massie introduced H.R. 3860, which he describes as a “bill to prohibit the military from forcing members to take the COVID vaccine,” that “does NOT depend on whether the vaccine is approved by the FDA.”
While Massie is taking on the federal mandate on the Defense Department, that is just one part of the battle as tens of millions of Americans face mandates on a local level or from their workplace.
It is yet to be seen whether the administration will implement a federal vaccine mandate applying to all U.S. citizens.
