President Biden said Friday that Americans “in all likelihood” can expect further restrictions due to an increase in COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant, as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said said the White House “looked”. in “prescribe the vaccines before later insisting otherwise.
When Biden left the White House to fly to Camp David, CBS News asked him if he anticipated further mandates.
“Most likely,” replied Biden. “By the way, we had a good day yesterday. Almost a million people have been vaccinated, about half a million of them for the first time or for the second time. So I hope people start to see the importance of exercise. “
Biden made no disclosure of the nature of new restrictions or whether they would be imposed by the federal government or by state and local officials. His statement capped a chaotic week of conflicting White House messages about the possibility of federal vaccine mandates and the implementation of new bans.
Moments later, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Fox News that the government is looking into a federal vaccine mandate.
“This is something I think the administration is investigating. It’s something I think we are looking to get the vaccine approved, ”Walensky told the“ Special Report ”moderator, Bret Baier.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karen Jean-Pierre has spoken out against the return of lockdowns on dealing with the Delta variant of COVID-19.
AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
“Overall, I think I am in favor of more vaccinations in general,” she added. “But I have nothing more to say about that, except that we look at these guidelines.”
Less than an hour after the interview, Walensky replied to a CNBC reporter with a tweet: “To be clear, there will be no nationwide mandate. I was referring to mandates from private institutions and parts of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate. “
A day earlier, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients denied the government was considering a nationwide vaccine mandate after Biden told reporters, “It’s still a question of whether the federal government can mandate the whole country [get vaccinated]. I do not know that yet.”
“This is not an authority that we are investigating,” Zients told CNN. “But I think the president was saying that his Justice Department said it was legal for employers to require vaccinations.”
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients is unsure whether President Joe Biden is looking to establish a nationwide vaccine mandate.
AP Photo / Susan Walsh
On Thursday, White House deputy press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre initially refused to rule out the possibility of renewed home stays and school closings this fall.
“We listen to the CDC and the experts and their guidance,” she said. “You know, ours – the CDC is a very reputable institution and we follow – again we follow their orders.”
A few hours later, Jean-Pierre tweeted emphatically, “We’re not going to lockdowns again. Why? Because we now have the tools to put this virus behind us. Science says the vaccines work – even against the Delta variant. We urge the Americans to get vaccinated. “
The CDC caused consternation Tuesday when it recommended reimposing mask requirements regardless of vaccination status in areas with “significant” or “high” coronavirus transmission, defined as at least 50 cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days. Under that policy, nearly three-quarters of all US counties had a “significant” or “high” transfer as of Friday – including all five NYC counties, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, Fairfield County in Connecticut and Bergen Counties in New Jersey.
Critics have accused the agency of undermining the message that the vaccines work by insisting that vaccinated people wear masks indoors anyway.
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