WILMINGTON, DE - NOVEMBER 25: President-elect Joe Biden delivers a Thanksgiving address at the Queen Theatre on November 25, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. As Biden waits to be approved for official national security briefings, the names of top members of his national security team were announced yesterday to the public. Calls continue for President Trump to concede the election and let the transition proceed without further delay. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden urged states and local governments to further incentivize COVID-19 vaccination by offering $100 payments to newly vaccinated people and paying businesses that offer their employees paid leave if they are trying to get their families vaccinated.
“I know that paying people to get vaccinated might sound unfair to folks who have gotten vaccinated already. But here’s the deal, if incentives help us beat this virus, I believe we should use them,” Biden said during the Thursday announcement. “We all benefit if we can get more people vaccinated.”
The President further announced that every federal government worker and those who work with them would be required to either provide proof of vaccination or wear a mask during work, social distance and get COVID-19 tested weekly or biweekly.
“It’s literally about life and death. It’s about life and death. That’s what it’s about,” Biden said. “I know people talk about freedom. But I learned growing up, school and my parents, with freedom, comes responsibility.”
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“Your decision to be unvaccinated impacts someone else,” Biden added. “Unvaccinated people spread the virus. They get sick and fill up our hospitals. And that means if someone else has a heart attack or breaks a hip, there may not be a hospital bed for them.”
During the Thursday press conference, Biden stressed the danger of the highly contagious delta variant and emphasized the importance of getting people vaccinated once again.
“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Biden said. “People are dying and will die who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die. Read the news.”
Republicans continue with their pushback on COVID-19 measures. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) advocated for her “We Will Not Comply Act” once again on Twitter.
“Thank you to [Rep. Barry Moore] and [Rep. Scott Perry] for cosponsoring my We Will Not Comply Act (H.R. 2317)! No American should be discriminated against based on their vaccine status!” Greene tweeted.
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