Now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech's two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, President Joe Biden is calling on companies to require their employees to get vaccinated.
Speaking from the White House on Monday, Biden said it "only makes sense" to require a vaccine to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
"I'm calling on more companies in the private sector to step up with vaccine requirements that will reach millions more people," the president said. "If you're a business leader, a nonprofit leader, a state or local leader, who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that — require it."
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The president's remarks come after the FDA gave its full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for people ages 16 and up.
Biden has said he lacks the power to issue nationwide vaccine mandates. However, private businesses are allowed to issue the mandates under Equal Employment Opportunity laws. Biden said businesses should act on those laws and impose consequences if workers don't want to roll up their sleeves for the shot.
"Do what I did last month," he continued, "require your employees to get vaccinated, or face strict requirements."
The Biden administration previously ordered vaccine requirements for federal workers, members of the armed forces and workers at federal medical centers and nursing homes. Those who decline to get vaccinated face weekly testing requirements, along with social distancing and mask mandates.
Biden said requiring vaccines is nothing new and has proven to help stop the spread of devastating viruses.
"Vaccination requirements have been around for decades," he said. "Students, health care professionals, our troops are typically required to receive vaccinations for everything from polio to smallpox, measles, mumps, rubella. In fact, the reason most people in America don't worry about polio, smallpox, measles, mumps and rubella today is because of vaccines."
Biden said the country is making progress on vaccinations, but those efforts must be ramped up in order to save lives that are being taken as the contagious delta variant continues to spread rapidly.
The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 73.1% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 62.5% are considered fully vaccinated.
"Let me say this loudly and clearly: If you're one of the millions of Americans who said that they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of the FDA, it has now happened," Biden said. "The moment you've been waiting for is here. It's time for you to go get your vaccination."
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