Federal employees will either need to be vaccinated or masked and tested

Joe Biden has taken a series of measures to boost vaccination in the United States, including asking millions of federal employees to either vaccinate or comply with a series of restrictions, according to a news release from the US White House Thursday.

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So unvaccinated federal employees will be required to wear a mask constantly, even in areas where circulation of Covid-19 is low, and to undergo regular testing, once or twice a week. They will also be restricted in their movements, according to this press release, which was issued shortly before the US President’s speech.

Without going so far as to commit to an explicit vaccination commitment, it is a change of course for a Biden administration that has so far refused to link any notion of restriction to vaccination, emphasizing more on individual responsibility and messages of encouragement. The federal state employs 4 million people, including 2 million civilians. Regarding the military, the US President asks the military to think about it “how and when” The addition of a vaccine against Covid-19 to the list of compulsory vaccinations for the military.

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Joe Biden also called on local authorities to pay $100 to anyone who gets vaccinated, drawing on that from emergency funds released to deal with the pandemic. The United States is trying to relaunch a vaccination campaign that, after a booming start, tends to stabilize, even as the rapid spread of the delta variant worries health authorities.