November 19, 2021 – Healthcare associations like The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Surgeons have encouraged businesses to adopt the Biden vaccine mandate – a debated vaccine-or-testing rule that would require businesses with over 100 employees to enforce COVID vaccinations or weekly testing.
In a joint statement, the organizations said, “We – physicians, nurses, and advanced practice clinicians, health experts, and health care professional societies – fully support the requirement that workers at companies with over 100 workers be vaccinated or tested. From the first day of the pandemic, businesses have wanted to vanquish the virus. Now is their chance to step up and show they are serious.”
According to a report from The Washington Post, “coronavirus cases have risen about 17% and hospitalizations have risen about 4% in the past week, with unvaccinated Americans far more likely to suffer severe symptoms and require medical treatment.”
The healthcare associations have argued that Biden’s mandates are “reasonable and essential.” With the spread of coronavirus outbreaks driven by outbreaks in offices, retail stores, and other business settings, they said, “Requiring masks for all unvaccinated workers by the December 5 deadline will be key to keeping customers and fellow workers safe during the holiday season.”
Ezekiel Emmanuel, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, coordinated the joint statement. “We’re not getting [enough] volunteers coming forward,” Emmanuel said. “We’re going to need mandates. And we know they’re effective.”