Biden says US will ‘in all probability’ see more guidelines and restrictions amid rising Covid cases
“And by the way, we had a good day yesterday,” Biden told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before departing for Camp David, referring to what he said were encouraging numbers of people who got vaccinated Thursday.
Pressed Friday on whether the US is headed for more lockdowns amid rising cases, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “The way we see this is that we have the tools in our tool belt to fight this, this, this variant,” adding, “we are not going to head towards a lockdown.”
“Our goal is to make sure that we are not headed towards that — that is not going to be the direction that we take, because we have the tools to prevent that,” Jean-Pierre said, pointing to the availability of free vaccines across the country.
The CDC study and updated mask guidance came amid further efforts from the Biden administration to mitigate the spread of the Delta variant.
In his sternest approach yet on the issue, the President bluntly argued that if you are unvaccinated, “You present a problem to yourself, to your family and to those with whom you work.”
The federal employee vaccination requirement marked a pivot away from encouraging Americans to get vaccinated in their own time toward placing the onus for the continuing pandemic on unvaccinated individuals.
The administration also announced additional vaccine incentives, such as expanding paid leave for employees who take time off to get themselves and their family members vaccinated. The President called on states, territories and local governments to do more to incentivize vaccination, including offering $100 to Americans for getting vaccinated, paid for with American Rescue Plan funding. Additionally, he asked school districts nationwide to host pop-up vaccination clinics over the coming weeks.
The administration stopped short of pursuing a vaccination requirement for the entire country, however. Biden said Thursday that he didn’t know yet whether the federal government had the power to require vaccines, and White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the administration is not considering a nationwide requirement.
“That’s not an authority that we’re exploring at all,” Zients said.
This story has been updated with background information.
CNN’s Rachel Janfaza, Maegan Vazquez and Michael Nedelman contributed to this report.
