Biden's new vaccine rule draws ire and cheers from federal employees

Employees will have to undergo one to two COVID tests per week, among other rules.

Published: July 29, 2021 9:08pm

Updated: July 29, 2021 10:40pm

President Joe Biden announced Thursday that federal workers will now be required to prove their COVID-19 vaccination status or be subject to a strict series of safety protocols. The protocols have drawn both resistance and appreciation from federal workers.

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, representing approximately 26,000 federal officers, slammed Biden for the mandate.

"There will be a lot of pushback. It's going to be an avalanche," the group's President Larry Cosme said, arguing that other groups would oppose the mandate, according to The Washington Post.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, an AFL-CIO union representing some 25,000 federal employees, said that the order from Biden would provide safety and security to its members.

"We're in the middle of a pandemic, over 600,000 people are dead, and we don't want any more of our members dying," Paul Shearon, the union's president, said Thursday.

Those who will not confirm their vaccination status will be required to comply with COVID testing once or twice a week. People will also be required to be physically distanced from all other employees and must wear a mask at all times.