Biden admin to end vaccine mandates for federal employees, international travelers

The Biden administration will soon end its COVID-19 vaccine requirements for federal workers, including employees and contractors, as well as international travelers.

The mandates will end on May 11, the White House declared Monday, with their termination set to coincide with the official ending of the COVID-19 public health emergency after Congress voted to end the public health declaration and President Joe Biden signed the measure.

"While vaccination remains one of the most important tools in advancing the health and safety of employees and promoting the efficiency of workplaces, we are now in a different phase of our response when these measures are no longer necessary," the White House statement asserted.

"The Federal government successfully implemented requirements for its workforce in a way that increased vaccination to achieve 98% compliance, reflecting employees who had received at least one dose of a vaccine or had a pending or approved exception or extension request filed by January 2022," it continued.

The executive branch further touted the accomplishments of the vaccine requirements, saying they "bolstered vaccination across the nation, and our broader vaccination campaign has saved millions of lives."

The Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services also announced that they would begin to eliminate vaccine requirements for Head Start educators, CMS-certified healthcare facilities, and some noncitizens at the nation's land border.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.