Biden declares war on the 80M unvaccinated Americans

President Joe Biden on Thursday slammed the 80 million Americans who have yet to get a COVD vaccine shot, asking them 'what more is there to wait for.'  

'This is not about freedom or personal choice. It's about protecting yourself and those around you, the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love. My job as president is to protect all Americans,' he said in remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House.

'We've been patient but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So please do the right thing,' he said. 

Biden's speech was a marked change from previous remarks on the pandemic. He took a harsh tone with those who have not gotten vaccinated and expressed impatience with their decision not to get a shot in the arm.  

He charged the unvaccinated with 'overcrowding our hospitals and overrunning emergency rooms intensive care units, leaving no room for someone with a heart attack or pancreatic cancer.'

The president decried the 'pandemic politics' that he said was behind those who had not yet gotten a shot in the arm, calling out public officials who were 'actively working to undermine the fight against COVID-19.'

'These pandemic politics, as I refer to, are making people sick, causing unvaccinated people to die. We cannot allow these actions to stand in the way of protecting the large majority of Americans who have done their part and want to get back to life as normal,' he said.

He charged those who were fighting against COVID-19 mitigation procedures with helping increase the death rate. He didn't mention any specific official by name by his administration has publicly clashed with the Republican governors of Florida and Texas, Rick DeSantis and Greg Abbott. 

'There are elected officials actively working to undermine the fight against COVID-19,' Biden said. 'Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated and mask up, they're ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated dying from COVID in their communities. This is totally unacceptable.'

He ended his nearly 30 minute speech with a whispered plea: 'Get vaccinated.' 

'My message to unvaccinated Americans is this - what more is there to wait for?,' Biden said. 'What more to you need to see? We've made vaccinations free, safe, and convenient. The vaccine has FDA approval. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot.'

In his remarks, Biden announced an aggressive new plan to get 100 million employees across the federal government and private sector vaccinated against COVID as the case rate continues to rise due to the Delta variant.

To reach his goal, Biden will use the sweeping power of the federal government, ordering companies to vaccinate workers or face fines of up to thousands of dollars. If the administration hits its 100 million mark that means two-thirds of the country's workforce would be vaccinated. 

He’ll have the Labor Department issue an emergency, temporary order to require all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure every worker is either fully vaccinated or gets tested at least once a week. The order covers over 80 million employees and it will require employers with 100 or more employees to give employees paid time off to get vaccinated.

Any business that violates the new rule will face substantial fines, up to $14,000. 

Biden argued some of the biggest companies in the country already required vaccines, including, he noted, Fox News. Many conservative viewers of Fox News also refuse to get the vaccine. 

'Some of the biggest companies are already requiring this - United Airlines, Disney, Tyson food, and even Fox News,' he said.

He will also require all workers in healthcare settings that receive Medicaid or Medicare reimbursement to get vaccinated, which will apply to 17 million healthcare workers.

That is in addition to his executive order requiring all federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated.

A senior administration official described it as an ‘aggressive, comprehensive’ plan to fight COVID as part of their mission to ‘vaccinate the unvaccinated.’ The official estimated nearly 80 million Americans are eligible to receive a shot but have not.

Additionally, the roughly 300,000 educators in headstart programs will be required to be vaccinated. 

Additionally the TSA is doubling fines for people who refuse to mask on planes. The new range of penalties, which take effect Friday, September 10, 2021, will be $500-$1000 for first offenders and $1000-$3000 for second offenders, the Department of Homeland Security announced.

'If you break the rules, be prepared to pay,' Biden warned in his remarks. 'And by the way, show some respect. The anger you see on television toward flight attendants and others doing their job is wrong, it's ugly.'

Biden also called on governors to require vaccinations for all school teachers and staff, a call that will likely not go over well in Southern states like Texas and Florida, where the GOP governors have pushed back against the CDC’s requirement for face masks in schools.

In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick DeSantis has threatened to with hold funding from school districts that require face masks.

To counter moves like that, the Department of Education will make additional funding available to help local school districts backfill salaries and other areas where it has been with held.

'My plan also takes on elected officials in states that are undermining you and these life saving actions. Right now, local school officials are trying to keep children safe in a pandemic while their governor picks a fight with them and even threatens their salaries or their jobs. Talk about bullying in schools. If they'll not help us beat the pandemic I'll use my power as president to get them out of the way,' he vowed. 

Biden also announced a ramp up in testing, using the Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of rapid tests, including at home test, and purchase $2 billion worth of rapid tests e and over the counter at home COVID tests for a total of 280 million tests. 

Earlier in the day, the administration revealed Biden will require all of the roughly 2.1 million federal workers to be vaccinated as part of a series of his tough new mandates.

There will be limited exceptions but any federal employee who refuses the shot can be fired, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

Federal employees and contractors will have 75 days to get vaccinated. 

The executive order will not include an option of being regularly tested to opt out of the vaccine requirement. The orders will apply to workers in the executive branch but not the congressional or judicial.

'There will be limited exceptions for legally recognized reasons disability or religious objections,' Psaki said. Anyone who 'fails to comply, they will go through the standard HR process, which includes counseling and face disciplinary action,' she added. 

She confirmed that action could include termination of employment.

'Hopefully it won't come to that,' she said.

She said the administration wanted the federal government to serve as an example for other businesses and organizations when it comes to vaccines.

'Obviously the federal workforce is one of the largest in the country and we would like to be a model to what we think other businesses, organizations should do,' she noted. 'The expectation is that if you want to work with federal government or be a contractor, you need to be vaccinated unless you are eligible for one of the exemptions.' 

Republican Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia, who has federal workers in his district, said he objected to the forced vaccines.

'Although I have personally been vaccinated and regularly encourage those I represent to get vaccinated as well, I fundamentally disagree with forcibly injecting America's public servants,' he told DailyMail.com in a statement. 

'Our government was founded to secure the

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