Biden Announces New COVID-19 Measures, Including Vaccine Mandate for Companies With 100+ Employees

President Joe Biden announced several new measures to fight COVID-19 in a Thursday speech, including requiring all executive branch employees and government contractors to get vaccinated without the option of getting tested weekly instead. Biden also said that the Department of Labor was preparing to require companies with over 100 employees to provide paid time off for vaccinations and mandate vaccination or weekly testing for employees. Furthermore, healthcare facilities that accept federal funding will be required to mandate vaccinations for workers. Other measures included preparing to provide vaccine booster shots, requiring vaccinations for teachers and staff at Head Start programs and Defense Department schools, paying teachers’ salaries withheld by state governments over COVID-19 safety measures, using the Defense Production Act to procure $2 billion in COVID-19 tests, doubling TSA fines for violating mask rules while traveling, expanding the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for small businesses, increasing support for hospitals burdened by COVID-19, and increasing shipments of monoclonal antibody treatments. 

Coverage was widespread and prominent across the spectrum on Thursday evening. Coverage in right-rated outlets tended to focus on the requirements for private companies with more than 100 employees. Coverage across the spectrum highlighted the scale of the new measures, using estimates like “could affect 100 million workers” and adjectives like “sweeping.”