A few days ago, President Biden announced the six-pronged strategy including sweeping mandates for vaccines or getting Covid-19 tested for millions of federal workers and all businesses with 100 or more employees. In this hyper-partisan political environment, such sweeping mandates are very controversial.

Speaking from The White House, Pres. Biden said “We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us. The unvaccinated minority ‘can cause a lot of damage, and they are‘.”

Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated, a distinct minority of Americans, supported by a distinct minority of elected officials, are keeping us from turning the corner.

President Joe Biden (source: MPR News)

In the Politico magazine, Peter S. Canellos and Joel Lau write that there is surprisingly strong Supreme Court precedent supporting such vaccine mandates.

In 1905, the high court made a fateful ruling with eerie parallels to today: One person’s liberty can’t trump everyone else’s.

Source: Politico Magazine

According to The New York Times, President Biden’s authority to mandate vaccination to federal and heath care workers stems from the law protecting workers.

Republican governors are reportedly threatening to sue over Pres. Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates. The Washington Post reports quoting Ronna McDaniel (Chairwomen of Republican National Committee) that the group “will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties.”

Vaccine mandates are hard. So is Covid.

The Washington Post Editorial

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Biden is Right. Vaccine Refusal ‘Has Cost All of Us’.

The New York Times Editorial

Though the critics of such vaccine mandates have reportedly appeal to businesses to oppose such sweeping Government mandates, according to The Hill, business groups don’t oppose Biden vaccine requirement.

• The Surprisingly Strong Supreme Court Precedent Supporting Vaccine Mandates
• Biden lays out plan to mandate vaccines or testing for millions of workers
• Biden accuses GOP governors fighting vaccine mandates of being ‘cavalier’ with health of schoolchildren
• Republican governors threaten to sue over Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates
• Business groups don’t oppose Biden vaccine requirement

The Associated Press (AP) News writes referring to a recent AP-NORC poll “55% of Americans in favor of requiring government workers to be fully vaccinated, compared with 21% opposed. Similar majorities also backed vaccine mandates for health care workers, teachers working at K-12 schools and workers who interact with the public, as at restaurants and stores.”

According to a CNN report, more than 400 universities are requiring Covid-19 vaccines as classes begin this fall.

Commenting on Pres. Biden’s announcement, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told AP News “There is an aspect to this now that has to do with our country being so divided. This has become so politicized that people can’t see the value of a vaccination that can save their lives. Our own divisions are preventing us from ending a pandemic.”