US President Joe Biden delivered his harshest criticism yet to the tens of millions of Americans who who have refused to be vaccinated. Biden took stage to address U.S. residents announcing policies requiring most federal employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations and pushing large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly.
Federal employees who don’t comply could be dismissed, the US President said, and private employers might be fined if they do not insist on vaccination.
In a televised speech running a bit under half an hour, the Democratic president accused "a distinct minority of elected officials" who have resisted mask and vaccine mandates on freedom-of-choice and economic grounds as "making people sick."
Biden also reiterated that the 25% of U.S. adults who’ve so far not been inoculated are dragging out the pandemic that has claimed more than 650,000 lives in the U.S.
“My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see?” he said. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us, so please, do the right thing.”