White House to End Most COVID Vaccine Mandates

Facts

• The Biden admin. announced Monday that it will end most vaccine requirements for federal workers, international travelers, contractors, Head Start employees, and healthcare workers at many hospitals on May 11.¹
• This comes after House Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill in February to end the pandemic national emergency, which was passed by all Republicans and some Democrats in a 229-197 vote. Pres. Biden then signed the bill on April 10.²
• The move will now allow unvaccinated international travelers to enter the US unhindered, including Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic who had been barred from competing in US tournaments but will now be eligible for the US Open.³
• Biden began his vaccine rollout as a voluntary effort in 2021 before mandating it after vaccine rates stalled and disease rates jumped due to new variants from overseas. This led to legal battles, with the US Supreme Court eventually striking down the mandate for private companies but keeping the one for healthcare workers.⁴
• As federal courts have blocked the vaccine mandate for federal workers since January 2022, an appeals court in December ruled the White House could not require federal contractors to impose mandates on their workers.⁵
• Ending the national emergency will also mean Americans with private health insurance and Medicare plans won't be eligible for eight free at-home COVID tests each month, private and Medicare patients may have to take on the cost of PCR tests, and hospitals will no longer receive higher Medicare payment rates for treating COVID patients.¹

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²New York Post, ³Reuters, ⁴The Washington Times, and ⁵The Hill.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by the White House. Biden's vaccine requirements protected both the American people and foreign nationals who wished to visit the US. While new variants were spreading like wildfire, the president understood the importance of vaccines and their role as the primary tool in combating the virus. Now that the pandemic is waning and the vaccine campaign was a success, the US has entered a new phase of the COVID response that doesn't require such stringent policies.
• Right narrative, as provided by New York Post. Vaccine mandates were an unjustified attack on civil liberties. As Biden and his buddies in Big Pharma knew all along, the vaccines were not the only tool available to combat COVID — but they were the most profitable. Now that the media-Big Pharma-government complex has been exposed for its lies, the American people cannot let them off scot-free. Anyone who cares about the truth must investigate the apparent corporate-government coverup and hold those who lied accountable.