The Biden administration will end its requirements that most international travelers, federal workers and contractors, health care workers and Head Start educators be vaccinated against covid effective on May 11 — the same day it terminates the public health emergency related to the pandemic.
The vaccine requirements, first ordered by President Biden in late 2021, had sparked protracted legal and political battles, with Republicans saying the mandates were unnecessary — a position recently joined by a growing number of Democrats and public health experts as the pandemic threat has receded.
“Our Administration’s vaccination requirements helped ensure the safety of workers in critical workforces, including those in the health care and education sectors, protecting themselves and the populations they serve,” said a prepared statement from the White House statement. “.. We also put in place vaccination requirements for certain international travelers to slow the spread of new variants entering the country.”
The Health and Human Services and Homeland Security departments will start their own processes to end vaccination requirements for Head Start educators, health care facilities that take Medicare and Medicaid, and some noncitizens at the land border, according to the White House statement.
