(Eagle News) — U.S. President Joe Biden took one of his most aggressive steps to get all Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 by requiring private businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure that their workers are fully vaccinated or prove that their employees do not have Covid.

“I’m announcing that the Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees, that together employ over 80 million workers, to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week,” Biden said in a speech late Wednesday afternoon, September 9.

This was only a part of Biden’s national strategy in the U.S. government’s fight against Covid-19. He laid out his plan, which consists of six broad areas of action.

The first area of the president’s plan was vaccinating the unvaccinated.

“Nearly three quarters of the eligible have gotten at least one shot, but one quarter has not gotten any,” Biden said. “That’s nearly 80 million Americans not vaccinated. And in a country as large as ours, that’s 25 percent minority. That 25 percent can cause a lot of damage — and they are.”

Biden admitted his patience was wearing thin with the unvaccinated.

“So, please, do the right thing,” Biden said. “But just don’t take it from me; listen to the voices of unvaccinated Americans who are lying in hospital beds, taking their final breaths, saying, ‘If only I had gotten vaccinated.’ ‘If only.'”

He also expressed his frustration with government officials who are not onboard with the federal government’s vaccination effort.

“The path ahead, even with the Delta variant, is not nearly as bad as last winter,” the president said. “But what makes it incredibly more frustrating is that we have the tools to combat COVID-19, and a distinct minority of Americans –supported by a distinct minority of elected officials — are keeping us from turning the corner. These pandemic politics, as I refer to, are making people sick, causing unvaccinated people to die.”

In addition to requiring proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for certain businesses, the Department of Labor will also require employers with 100 or more workers to give workers paid time off to get vaccinated.

The White House appealed to large entertainment venues, such as sports arenas, concert venues and movie theaters to require customers to show proof or vaccination or a negative test upon entry.

The president also touched on the fight against Covid on school campuses.

He encouraged parents to take the lead in the vaccination effort.

“The safest thing for your child 12 and older is to get them vaccinated,” Biden said. “They get vaccinated for a lot of things. That’s it. Get them vaccinated.”

He mandated the nearly 300,000 educators under federal paid and Head Start programs to be vaccinated and called on all governors to require vaccination for all teachers and staff.

Aside from vaccination, masking has also been a source of division among Americans.

The president doubled down on his masking requirements in all federal buildings and lands, on airlines and other modes of transportation. Biden instructed the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to double fines given to travelers who refuse to mask up.

The six-pronged plan of Biden includes:

(Eagle News Service)