Andy Field - ABC Correspondent in Washington DC
Nearly 100 million U.S. workers will be required to get the COVID vaccine by Jan. 4, with some workers allowed to test weekly instead, under sweeping federal rules released today by the Biden administration that identifies COVID-19 as an occupational hazard. The regulations are aimed at health care workers and businesses with 100 or more employees, covering two-thirds of the nation’s workforce. Businesses that don’t comply could be fined $14,000 per infraction, and hospitals could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid dollars. Once divided on how to address the pandemic, Republican governors have united against the plan, insisting it represents dangerous federal overreach and would cripple business owners already dealing with worker shortages. Supporters counter that many large businesses have already embraced vaccine mandates to both entice employees who want a safe workplace and end a pandemic that has hobbled the economy. They argue too that whenever employers have enacted mandates, the vast majority of workers comply. (The Walt Disney Company, the parent of ABC News, requires all of its new, salaried and non-union hourly employees to get vaccinated before heading to work.)
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