The Biden administration is finally lifting several COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which includes the requirement for foreign travelers to show proof of vaccination.
The White House announced on Monday that the mandate for noncitizen nonimmigrants arriving by air will end on May 12. Additionally, mandates for federal workers and federal contractors will also be lifted on the same day, The Epoch Times reported.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that the requirement for proof of vaccination at U.S. land borders will also come to an end on May 12. The Biden administration has also stated that mandates for Head Start employees and health care facilities certified by federal regulators will be phased out in the future, although specific dates for these changes were not provided.
The White House told The Associated Press that certain mandates, such as those imposed by the National Institutes of Health, will continue to be in effect for the time being.
“In 2021, President Joe Biden and his top officials introduced these mandates in an effort to boost the number of vaccinated individuals in the country. However, despite evidence indicating that vaccines provide only temporary protection against symptomatic infection and hospitalization, the administration attempted to increase the number of vaccinated Americans,” the report said.
Courts have blocked several vaccination requirements, including one for federal workers, after judges deemed them to be potentially illegal. The Supreme Court also struck down a mandate for large private employers, and a requirement for members of the military was withdrawn following the passage of a bill by Congress.
The White House claimed that the mandates “helped ensure the safety of workers in critical workforces including those in the healthcare and education sectors, protecting themselves and the populations they serve, and strengthening their ability to provide services without disruptions to operations.” The administration added that the mandates “bolstered vaccination across the nation, and [the] broader vaccination campaign has saved millions of lives.”
The mandates were widely opposed, by experts as well as ordinary Americans.
“White House advisors were not smart. Initially, there was no proof that forcing a third party provided additional benefit to someone who was vaccinated. Then, it was clear by summer 2021 that vaccine cannot hold transmission. Ergo mandate[s] always unethical,” Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote on Twitter.
White House advisors were not smart. Initially, there was no proof that forcing a third party provided additional benefit to someone who was vaccinated. Then, it was clear by summer 2021 that vaccine cannot hold transmission. Ergo mandate always unethical https://t.co/YKlRCtSu3F
— Vinay Prasad MD MPH (@VPrasadMDMPH) May 1, 2023
Biden himself is among the many government and healthcare industry officials who have made false claims about the vaccines, which don’t prevent transmission, infection, or severe illness.
“You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations,” he said.
