Biden’s White House persistently promotes vaccine mandates defending their pressure as a way to get more shots in arms despite concerns of overstepping their authority.
On Tuesday evening, Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, highlighted some success of vaccine mandates on social media.
According to Psaki, the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit went from a vaccination rate of 68 percent to 98 percent, United Airlines went from a 59 percent rate to a 98 percent rate, and the Department of Defense went from a 76 percent rate to a 94 percent rate among active duty troops.
Biden was expected to travel to Chicago on Wednesday to promote vaccine mandates, but his trip was canceled, allowing him to negotiate his $5 trillion spending agenda.
Psaki also pointed to the success of vaccine mandates at Rutgers, the University of Michigan, Virginia Tech, and the University of Vermont.
“The American people are widely supportive of these measures,” she wrote. “A recent Fox News poll showed a strong majority were in support of these vaccine requirements.”
During Monday’s press conference, Psaki stated, “We’re seeing in a lot of places that this is working, it’s effective, it’s creating more certainty and protection in their workforces.”
Recent polls show Americans are more likely to disagree with vaccine mandates when asked if jobs should be terminated for those who refuse to comply.
A Republican polling firm Trafalgar released a poll showing that 65 percent of Americans don’t believe workers should lose their job for objecting to the vaccine.
United Airlines announced 593 employees who refused to get vaccinated would be fired.
Psaki’s new support for mandates showed a dramatic turnaround from the White House position in July when she said that vaccine mandates were “not the role of the federal government.”
Ron Klain, White House Chief of Staff, also promoted vaccine mandates on social media.
“Vaccine requirements work — making all of us safer,” Klain wrote, sharing a New York Times article showing vaccination rates for New York hospital employees increased to 92 percent by the deadline to get their first dose of the vaccine.
The final enforcement vaccine mandate rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not yet been issued, despite Biden announcing his decision the first part of September.
“This is not about freedom or personal choice,” Biden said about his plan to require private businesses over 100 employees to issue a vaccination mandate or face a fine. “It’s about protecting yourself and those around you.”
Obviously, Biden believes the vaccine mandate for private businesses will work; he expressed his hope that the U.S. could get a vaccination rate of up to 98 percent.
“Look, I think we get the vast majority — like is going on in so many – some industries and some schools — 96, 97, 98 percent,” Biden said when asked what vaccination rate he would need to get the country back to normal.