The White House unveiled an new plan to combat COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads and some 80 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated. The following are some of the details of the plan and who it affects.
U.S. President Joe Biden removes his face mask as he arrives to deliver remarks in honor of labor unions in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarqueto combat COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads and some 80 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated. The following are some of the details of the plan and who it affects.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is developing a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated, or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative COVID-19 test once a week. This requirement will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses, the White House said.
OSHA will also develop a rule requiring employers with more than 100 employees to provide paid time off for workers to get vaccinated or to recover if they suffer from vaccination side effects.The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most healthcare facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement, including hospitals, dialysis centers, ambulatory surgical settings, and home health agencies.
This requirement will impact over 17 million healthcare workers at hospitals and other facilities that take these patients.President Joe Biden will use his authority under the Defense Production Act to procure nearly 280 million rapid point-of-care and over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests, at a cost of $2 billion.
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