Biden asks businesses to push for COVID-19 shots

Concerned but not giving up, President Joe Biden is anxiously pushing ahead to prod people to get Covid-19 shots after the Supreme Court put a halt to the administration's sweeping vaccinate-or-test plan for large employers.

At a time when hospitals are being overrun and record numbers of people are getting infected with the omicron variant, the administration hopes states and companies will order their own vaccinate-or-test requirements. And if the presidential "bully pulpit"' still counts for persuasion, Biden intends to use it.

While some in the business community cheered the defeat of the mandate, Biden insisted the administration effort has not been for naught. The high court's ruling on Thursday "does not stop me from using my voice as president to advocate for employers to do the right thing to protect Americans' health and economy," he said.


The court's conservative majority all-but-struck down the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's requirement that employers with 100 or more employees require their workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or tested weekly. However, it did leave in place a vaccination requirement for healthcare workers.

While the court left open the possibility for the US to pursue more targeted mandates, White House officials said there were no immediate plans to seek a redo of the regulation.

The renewed debate over vaccination mandates comes as a record number of Americans are hospitalised with Covid19, the country is averaging nearly 800,000 new cases and 1,700 deaths a day and resistance to vaccines remains a problem.

Hospitals nationwide are suffering chronic staffing shortages and being bombarded with people showing up at emergency rooms in need of virus tests.

Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, predicted the court's action would have grave influence on other federal agencies' efforts to protect public health, by ruling that OSHA can't regulate something that would have a huge economic impact without explicit authorisation from Congress. And he said states won't be able to make up for the ruling's impact.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it would work with businesses to promote the benefits of vaccination-or-testing requirements and that Biden would highlight successful programs.

"The Court has ruled that my administration cannot use the authority granted to it by Congress to require this measure," Biden said. So, "I call on business leaders to immediately join those who have already stepped up - including one third of Fortune 100 companies - and institute vaccination requirements to protect their workers, customers, and communities."