On July 29, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order stating federal employees, and federal contractors working at federal installations, either be fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, or wear masks while indoors and agree to regular testing to ensure they have not contracted Covid-19.

This development comes as the Delta variant of Covid-19 fuels a disturbing surge of cases in the United States. This variant initially appeared in India, where it is estimated to have caused approximately four million deaths in the space of several months, and has rapidly become the dominant Covid-19 variant due to its high rate of transmission. The surge in the U.S. has jumped from an average of fewer than 15,000 average daily cases to more than 110,000 average daily cases in the space of less than two months.

The Administration’s guidance, which you can access here, is aimed at preserving the ability of the federal workforce to carry out its critical mission. Allowing feds who are unable or hesitant to be vaccinated to instead wear masks indoors and receive regular testing serves to protect the health and wellbeing of the federal workforce, their families and all Americans.