The Biden administration will avoid weighing in on how the private sector deals with unvaccinated employees or customers as it confronts a slowing vaccination rate.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies were unlikely to issue recommendations regarding whether unvaccinated people ought to be excluded from certain public and private spaces.
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“Obviously, private-sector businesses and entities are going to set their own standards,” Psaki told reporters.
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Psaki repeated Biden’s position against the federal government being involved with “vaccine passports” or similar documentation ideas.
“That’s not something that is going to be conducted, reviewed, or overseen by the federal government,” she said.
States this week helped Biden reach his benchmark of nationwide vaccine eligibility for all members of the public age 16 and older.
“Over 80% of seniors have had at least their first shot, up from 8%. And now, 50% of adults in the U.S. have had at least one shot, up from 5%,” said Andy Slavitt, a Biden COVID-19 response team senior adviser, on Monday.
Yet, with only roughly 25% of the country fully vaccinated, the United States is still well short of the 70% to 85% target believed to be required for herd immunity and a return to “normal” everyday life.
The Biden administration is struggling to incentivize certain segments of the population to become vaccinated, including Republicans and white evangelical Christians. The issue of hesitancy was further complicated last week after the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose shot was paused following recipient reports of blood clots.
Psaki, however, cited data earlier this week that suggested some poll respondents were actually more confident in the vaccines after the Food and Drug Administration made the decision to pull the Johnson & Johnson shot temporarily.
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“It’s really an issue of access,” she said. “In part access, I should say, but also, in part, messengers, and that’s why a huge amount of our $3 billion in funding is focused on empowering and funding local messengers, whether it’s doctors or clergy or local civic leaders, because we know they are the most effective in conveying the efficacy of these vaccines.”
