About 90% of federal workers have been vaccinated by the deadline

November 23, 2021 – More than 90% of federal officials have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the November 22 deadline announced by President Joe Biden this fall.

The majority of these employees are fully vaccinated, and another 5% are seeking or already have an exemption or extension. This means that 95% of the 3.5 million federal employees who were covered by the vaccine’s mandate complied with the deadline by Monday.

“We are successfully implementing vaccination requirements for the largest workforce in the United States with federal officials in every part of the nation and around the world,” said Jeff Zients, White House coordinator of COVID-19’s response efforts, during a briefing. on Monday. .

Officials said the vaccination rate, which includes civilian and military personnel, shows the government will not see any disruption this holiday season. At the same time, it is unclear how approximately 350,000 unvaccinated workers may affect government operations, according to ABC News.

The vaccination rate varies depending on the agency and location. For example, White House staff is estimated to be 99% vaccinated, ABC News reported. Vaccinations over vaccines are expected to be higher among border patrols and federal prison staff.

Agencies will now begin a consultation process to encourage workers to receive a shot, Zients said. Leaders were given the leeway to decide the next steps.

“To be clear, the purpose of vaccination requirements is to protect workers, not to punish them,” Zients said. “So the deadline for tonight is not an end point or a scale. We continue to see more and more federal officials receiving their photos. “

The White House Office of Management and Budget is expected to release more details on Wednesday, including a breakdown of vaccination levels by agency.

Many agencies have high levels of compliance, Zients said Monday, meaning employees have either received a shot or filed for release or extension. This includes 93% of the Transportation Security Administration, 98% of the Internal Revenue Service, 99% of the Federal Aviation Administration, 99% of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and 98% of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The Biden administration also requires that state employees be vaccinated by January 4th. Private employers with 100 or more employees have been ordered to ensure that their workers have been vaccinated by then or to undergo weekly tests, although a federal appeals court has set the vaccine requirement so far.

“Looking at the federal labor vaccination data makes one thing obvious: the vaccination requirements work,” Zients said. “They encourage more people to get vaccinated.”