Biden Will Require Vaccines For Federal Workers As Part Of A New COVID Strategy

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President Biden’s strategy will eliminate an option for unvaccinated workers to be regularly tested instead, a source familiar with the decision tells NPR.

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The new strategy will build upon previously announced guidance and mandates, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.

«There will be new components … Some of that will be related to access to testing, some will be related to mandates, some will be related to how we ensure kids are protected in schools,» Psaki said, describing the nation as having been «at war» with the virus.

COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have spiked recently, due in large part to the delta variant, which experts say appears to be twice as transmissible as the highly contagious original strain.

The vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths in the current surge are among the unvaccinated. About a quarter of U.S. adults have not gotten a vaccine dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biden has overseen ramped-up efforts to combat the virus through vaccinations and mask usage, but vaccine hesitancy — particularly among white Republicans — and the politicization of masks have hindered the nation in the fight to stamp out the virus.

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And as children and teenagers return to school and the weather begins to cool, experts have warned that the country is likely to continue to see virus surges if more drastic steps are not taken.