Biden Vaccine Rule May Affect 100 Million People, Including In WI

WISCONSIN — President Joe Biden announced Thursday a new vaccine order that is expected to affect up to 100 million Americans, including many in Wisconsin.

As The Associated Press first reported, the order will mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require that their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly virus tests. The mandate will affect roughly 80 million Americans, including employees of large businesses here in Wisconsin, the AP reported.

The order also required employees at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding. That should affect roughly 17 million more Americans and it will change plenty for Wisconsinites. So far, state employees and contractors are only required to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status, The Capital Times reported.

The City of Milwaukee already requires its general city employees to be vaccinated, and Gov. Tony Evers extended a $100 incentive for residents to get vaccinated by Sept. 19.

Biden issued a separate executive order to require vaccination for employees of the executive branch and all contractors who work with the federal government, the AP reported. That order will affect several million more workers.

The orders are the first COVID-19 vaccine mandates to come from the federal government and are also the first in Wisconsin. The Badger State doesn't have a vaccine mandate, though Evers considered a vaccine mandate for state employees in August, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

It does not appear the Biden order will offer religious exemptions, though under it employees can elect to take weekly nasal swab tests if they would prefer not to be vaccinated.

The vaccine orders come as the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 sweeps through Wisconsin and much of the country. Rising hospitalization rates have local hospitals treating as many COVID-19 patients as there were in January, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Assocation's latest update Tuesday.

"It’s more important than ever that everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated get vaccinated so we can keep ourselves, our kids, our friends, family and neighbors safe," said Karen Timberlake, secretary of state health services.

See Also: Gov. Evers Extends $100 COVID-19 Incentive Program For 2 Weeks

WI COVID-19 Hospitalizations Highest Since January

Charles Woodman, Patch Staff, contributed to this report.