From the BBC:
“Covid-19: Biden tells states
to offer $100 vaccine incentive as cases rise”
US President Joe Biden has called
for states to offer $100 (£71) to the newly vaccinated in an effort to address
flagging jab rates amid virus surges. The president also issued a strict new
vaccine requirement for US federal workers, the nation's largest workforce with
some two million people.The order requires employees to show proof of
vaccination or be subjected to mandatory testing and masking. Just under half
of the US is fully vaccinated, according to official data.
Speaking from the White House on
Thursday, Mr Biden said that the new measures are a result of the highly
contagious Delta variant's spread, made worse by a "pandemic of the
unvaccinated". "People are dying and will die who don't have to
die," the president said. Mr Biden added that the monetary incentive may
seem unfair to already vaccinated Americans, but "we all benefit if we can
get more people vaccinated". States would use money from the $1.9tn
American Rescue Plan legislation to fund the incentives. Mr Biden said that the
federal government will be "fully reimbursing" small or medium-sized
businesses that provide workers paid time off to get vaccinated.
While government workers who
refuse to get vaccinated will not be fired, this move by the White House aims
to set an example for other employers nationwide. The Democratic president also
addressed theories, spreading mostly in conservative circles, that the jabs are
unsafe. He emphasised there "is nothing political" about the
vaccines, which were developed and authorised under a Republican administration
and further distributed under his. Last month, a study showed that over 99% of
Covid-19 deaths have been among the unvaccinated.
Nearly 70% of adults have
received at least one jab, according to the latest data from the Centers for
Disease Control. But vaccination rates are varied across the country. Southern
and western regions, which are now experiencing Covid outbreaks, have much
lower rates. It comes as virus-related deaths climb to around 2,000 per week.
New cases are now at their highest point in the last three months, with about
60,000 being recorded per day.
Earlier this week, the CDC
revised its mask policy for even fully vaccinated Americans in certain regions
due to the Delta variant surges. Indoor mask use is now recommended for people
in areas with higher rates of Covid transmission. New York, California, and
several other states have gone one step further - requiring that masks be worn
in public indoor spaces.
In other Covid news: Mr
Biden has called on Congress to act to halt a federal moratorium on evictions,
which is is due to expire on Saturday. Starting on Thursday, Apple will
begin requiring customer to wear masks in about half of their stores. Atlanta
and Washington DC have become the latest cities to return to imposing indoor
mask mandates. At the White House, staff and reporters are wearing masks
again after Washington DC upgraded it's transmission level to
"substantial".
^ I don’t think we should pay the
unvaccinated any money to get vaccinated. No one paid me when I got my shot. If
a person doesn’t get vaccinated then they can easily get sick and die and if a
person gets vaccinated then it is near unlikely they will get sick or die –
that is the payment. ^
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