On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” White House COVID Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said that the Postal Service is exempt from President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate because they’re “an independent agency.” And the president is mandating vaccines for teachers “where he can within the federal government.”
Host Erin Burnett asked, “So, when it came to what you felt you were able to do, obviously, you’re not mandating the vaccine for everyone. I mean, there’s this weekly testing option out there. But there’s also not everyone, right? The Postal Service is not included. And when it comes to teachers, you’re asking governors to do it. … I don’t know, is it the unions that you feel like you’re not able to mandate it for the Postal Service or for teachers?”
Zients answered, “Well, we’re doing it everywhere we can. The Postal Service is an independent agency. On teachers, the president is doing it where he can within the federal government. So, all teachers that teach as part of the Department of Defense school system and at the Department of Interior, we are insisting — the president is insisting on a vaccine of all teachers. Across the country, about 90% of teachers and staff at schools are vaccinated. But that should be 100%. And many states have put in place vaccine mandates for teachers and school staff. And the president is calling on all governors to do the same. Our kids should be with vaccinated teachers. The other thing that the president did today was to make sure that all teachers and educators that are part of the Head Start program, that’s almost 300,000 educators across the country, must also be vaccinated.”
**UPDATE**
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reports the White House now claims Postal Workers will not be exempt from the vaccine mandate for employers with more than 100 employees:
Postal Service workers are not subjected to federal mandate, but fall under the Labor Department rule announced by President Biden aimed at businesses with more than 100 employees, a senior administration official tells CNN, with employees required to vaccinate or test weekly.
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) September 10, 2021
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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