Ninety-two percent of the federal government is vaccinated against Covid-19 as of yesterday, the deadline for federal workers to comply with the vaccine mandate President Joe Biden announced 75 days prior, the White House said, noting that 4.5 percent of federal employees are considered to be in compliance with the mandate because they have a pending or approved vaccine exemption, bringing the total percentage of federal workers in compliance to 96.5 percent.
Those who have not yet complied will receive education and counseling, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in a statement.
“This next stage of the process will not result in disruptions to government services and operations and will result in more employees becoming vaccinated,†OMB said.
The news comes as the Biden administration asks a federal court to reinstate a nationwide workplace vaccine mandate that was put on hold earlier this month.
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“Delaying this standard would endanger many thousands of people and would likely cost many lives per day,†government lawyers argued. “With the reopening of workplaces and the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the threat to workers is ongoing and overwhelming.â€
The 55-page submission was filed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) late Monday.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
