Biden to Strengthen Push for Vaccine Mandates in New COVID-19 Plan

THURSDAY, Sept. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- President Joe Biden is slated to announce an ambitious six-point plan to double down on a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, including more pressure on government, businesses, and schools to implement vaccine mandates, news sources report. A speech outlining the new plan is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, The New York Times said.

Speaking Wednesday at a media briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said new efforts to rein in COVID-19 will impact Americans based on whether they have yet been vaccinated or not, CBS News reported.

"He's going to outline the next phase in the fight against the virus and what that looks like," Psaki said, "including measures to work with the public and private sector, building on the steps we've already announced, the steps we've taken over the last few months: requiring more vaccinations, boosting important testing measures and more; making it safer for kids to go to school all at a time when the American people are listening."

The new plan involves "six steps," Psaki said: vaccinating the unvaccinated; upping protections for the vaccinated; keeping schools safely open; boosting COVID-19 testing and requiring masking; shielding the U.S. economic recovery; and improving care for those with COVID-19.

"We know that increasing vaccinations will stop the spread of the pandemic, will get the pandemic under control, will return people to normal life," Psaki said at the Wednesday press briefing, The Times reported. "That's what our objective is, so we want to be specific about what we're trying to achieve."

The New York Times Article

CBS News Article