UPDATE - Biden to require all federal workers to be vaccinated for coronavirus

ADDS WHITE HOUSE COMMENTS; CHANGES DECK

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden will require all federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and remove previously established testing and masking requirements for the unvaccinated in a move intended to spur private sector action.

Biden previously allowed for rigorous testing for people who did not want to be vaccinated and required them to be masked at all times when around others. But those exceptions are to be nixed in favor of the universal mandate, the White House confirmed.

Spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed there will be "limited exemptions" for individuals who claim medical or religious objections, and said the policy will be implemented for the roughly 4 million workers following a 75-day "ramp up" period for employees to become fully vaccinated.

"That gives people more than enough time, in our view, to start and complete their vaccination series," she told reporters at the White House. "If a federal worker fails to comply they will go through the standard HR process, which includes counseling, and face progressive disciplinary action."

The president is expected to make the formal announcement during a Thursday evening speech in which he will lay out a six-point plan to stop the spread of the delta variant in the US, and increase vaccine uptake.

The delta variant has led to a surge in coronavirus cases, particularly in hard-hit communities with under-vaccinated populations. Daily cases and deaths have been skyrocketing since July with more than 261,000 infections recorded Sept. 7 and over 3,800 deaths on Sept. 3.

There are some 80 million unvaccinated Americans currently, and Psaki said that as the delta variant's impact on cases and deaths over the past couple of months has led Biden to double-down on "the importance of taking additional bold and ambitious steps to get more people vaccinated."

"Obviously the federal workforce is one of the largest in the country, and we would like to be a model to what we think other businesses and organizations should do around the country," she said.