White House: No apparent disruption from vaccine mandate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration's vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel.

On Tuesday, one day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers covered by Biden’s mandate reported to the government that they are at least partially vaccinated, according to White House officials.

The highest number of partial vaccinations by Tuesday was at the Agency for International Development, which had 97.8%, followed closely by the Department of Health and Human Services at 96.4% and State Department at 96.1%, according to data provided by the White House Wednesday.

Law enforcement agencies do lag behind in vaccines, with the Justice Department at 89.8%. The Department of Veterans Affairs is at 87.8% of partial vaccinations, though the Defense Department was 93.4% and the Homeland Security Department was 88.9%. The government office with the least number of partially vaccinated employees was the Agriculture Department, at 86.1%

But overall, 96.5% of federal employees have been deemed in compliance with the policy, which also includes medical or religious exemptions that are still being evaluated. The rest are considered out of compliance, but officials emphasized that “it’s not a cliff,” and that workers will receive counseling to get vaccinated or file for an exemption. Only then would termination be considered.

“We know vaccine requirements work,” said White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz. “We hope that our implementation sends the clear message to businesses to move forward with similar measures that will protect their workforce, protect their customers, and protect our communities.”

White House officials said...