VA Becomes First Federal Agency To Mandate Vax

The New York Times reports:

The Department of Veterans Affairs will require 115,000 of its frontline health care workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the next two months, making it the first federal agency to mandate that employees be inoculated, government officials said on Monday. The move comes as concern is growing that the substantial portion of the population that has not been vaccinated is contributing to the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

While it was a sharp departure from the Biden administration’s reluctance to embrace mandates, it was part of a broader shift in which New York City, many hospital chains and some private employers are deciding that the time has come to make being vaccinated a requirement. “I am doing this because it’s the best way to keep our veterans safe, full stop,” Denis McDonough [photo], the secretary of veterans affairs, said in a telephone interview on Monday.

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Breaking News: The Department of Veterans Affairs will require its health care workers to be vaccinated against Covid. It’s the first federal agency to do so as concern grows about unvaccinated people contributing to the Delta variant’s rapid spread. https://t.co/6v6IW1lQyW

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 26, 2021