The Los Angeles Post

Biden walks fine line on vaccine mandates

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The Biden administration is walking a fine line on vaccine requirements, as it encourages employers to mandate shots for their workers but stops short of promoting other measures.

The White House, in an effort to boost a vaccination rate that has slowed from its April peak, has praised businesses that are mandating vaccinations for employees. Those steps in the private sector largely followed President Biden’s requirement last month that federal workers get vaccinated or submit to regular testing.

But there are several far-reaching measures Biden could impose — and that some experts are calling for. So far, the president has decided against implementing the kind of requirements implemented by U.S. allies.

Among them:

  • Requiring vaccines for air travelers, as Canada announced on Friday
  • Giving a full-throated call for more cities to follow New York and San Francisco’s lead in requiring proof of vaccination for activities like indoor dining.

“I think he’s leaving a lot of effective tools on the table,” Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, said of Biden, while giving him “high marks” for his actions on vaccines for federal workers.