White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said the administration is planning to finalize its vaccine mandate for companies in the near future and claimed the supply chain crunch won’t be worsened, because employees will comply.
“The rule will be finalized soon, but we know businesses are already acting,” Zients said during a COVID-19 briefing on Oct. 27.
During the briefing, Zients—who also referenced OSHA having sent text of the rule to the OMB—couldn’t provide a firm timeline on when the OSHA rule would actually be implemented and provided no other details. Biden also announced mandates for federal workers, federal contractors, and most health care staff, with no option for weekly testing.
But in recent weeks, a number of business leaders, the heads of truckers organizations, air cargo groups, manufacturing groups, and retail associations sent warnings to the Biden administration about the mandate. They argued that the rule would exacerbate supply chain bottlenecks and could trigger chaos.
Zients, however, sought to downplay those fears and pointed to high vaccination rates at some companies that have mandated the shots. Tyson Foods, he said, achieved a 96 percent vaccination rate, and he said some airlines have reached more than 95 percent.
“These processes play out across weeks, not days,” Zients said. “We’re creating flexibility within the system. We’re offering people multiple opportunities to get vaccinated, there is not a cliff here. And the purpose, most importantly, is to get people vaccinated and protected, not to punish them, so we do not expect any disruptions.”
“It has been a hectic holiday season already, as you know, with supply chain struggles,” Armstrong said. “This is a difficult policy to implement. It would be even more difficult during the holiday season.”
