American workers are facing increasing pressure to get vaccinated against Covid-19 – CNN

Employers' emerging vaccine policies take many forms, including those requiring shots for being on site, and those that provide alternatives such as strict testing and masking rules.

Dr. Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst and former Baltimore health commissioner said she is for such requirements, in part because they could boost vaccination levels to a point where virus levels can be tamped down.

"I think the federal government is signaling now: 'Hey, vaccine mandates are a good idea.' ... It gives cover to these businesses that have long wanted to do this," Wen said Thursday.

"Why in the world would we just stand by and not take action right now?" Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, told CNN "None of us wants to turn back and experience" any more consequences of rising cases, like the banning of indoor dining, he said.

The US averaged more than 63,600 new daily cases over the last week -- an average that's generally risen since the country hit a 2021 low of 11,299 daily on June 22, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

As of Wednesday, cases rose in all but one state in the past seven days compared to the week before, and cases rose at least 50% in 36 states in that time, according to Johns Hopkins.

'We've hit a wall' on vaccinations, expert says

The culprit is an insufficient rate of vaccinations, said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the US Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory committee.

"We've hit a wall," Offit told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday. "We've gotten to the point where you have to compel people to do the right thing."

The rate of people getting their first Covid-19 vaccine shot has risen in recent days. An average of 382,106 people initiated vaccination each day over the last week -- a 35% increase over last week's pace, and the highest average in the three weeks, CDC data shows.

"There was a time we were giving 3 million doses a day. If we'd stayed that course, we could be at roughly 80% population immunity," Offit said.

Wednesday's Washington Nationals MLB game against the Philadelphia Phillies was postponed after 12 members of the Nationals -- four players and eight staff members -- tested positive for Covid-19.

The climbing case numbers have pushed some areas to return to mask requirements:

The mayor of Atlanta issued an executive order Wednesday requiring masks in all indoor public places.

In Kansas, state employees and visitors will be required to wear masks indoors starting Monday.

The Pentagon implemented an indoor mask requirement regardless of vaccination status.

But other leaders are pushing back against the return to pre-vaccine precautions.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted Wednesday that he will not issue any mask mandates or lockdowns in the state.

Georgia is one of the 35 states where new cases in the past week were more than 50% higher than the week prior. Currently 38.5% of the state's population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Health experts have said the changes in recommendations, like those made to mask guidance, are the result of under vaccination and the Delta variant changing the landscape of the pandemic.

Experts advocate for vaccine mandates as hesitancy grows

Despite education efforts, increased accessibility and financial incentives in many places, vaccination rates have slowed -- a worrying trend for health experts who say vaccination is the best hope to end the pandemic.

About 46% of Republicans who most trust far-right news said they will refuse to get vaccinated, up from 31% who said the same in March, the survey found. However, 77% of Republicans who most trust mainstream news outlets and 64% of Republicans who most trust Fox News are "vaccine accepters," according to the survey data.

Among Democrats, 85% are vaccine accepters, up from 73% in March, and 71% of independents are vaccine accepters, up from 58% in March, according to the survey data.

One motivator that might help overcome the hesitancy, some officials and experts have suggested, is vaccine mandates. And many places have begun implementing them.

The Baylor Scott & White Health system in Texas announced Wednesday all 49,000-plus employees, volunteers, vendors and students will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by October.

"The Delta variant is the most contagious and dangerous strain we have seen to date, leading to exponentially increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization. The overwhelming majority of these cases are among the unvaccinated," the company said in a statement.

CNN's Alexis Benveniste, Clare Duffy, Kevin Liptak, Kay Jones, Dave Alsup, Raja Razek, Barbara Starr, Deidre McPhillips, Taylor Romine, Alison Kosik and Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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American workers are facing increasing pressure to get vaccinated against Covid-19 - CNN