The Biden administration took a clear step last week to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for certain American workers. What is not clear is how the executive order may be enforced and exactly to whom it will apply.
After a concerted effort to get more Americans vaccinated against the diseases, this unique virus has infected nearly 42 million Americans and killed 671,000.
After dropping in July to about 300 new cases a day, North Carolina is now seeing about 5,000 new cases reported daily.
The positivity rate -- the ratio of people who had a COVID test and gave a positive result -- is about 12%, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Health officials say that rate should be below 5 percent to stop communicable spread of the disease.
Some area employers, such as the Army and Veterans Administration Hospital, had already imposed vaccine mandates. What is not clear is how the Biden Administration intends to enforce the mandate.
In the Fayetteville area, it appears that business owners in general are walking a fine line between keeping their shops safe and bringing in enough customers to pay the bills.
“We're encouraging people to get the vaccine, wear a mask and remain a safe distance -- about 6 feet -- from each other,” Chamber CEO and President Shari Fiveash told the Greatest Fayetteville business area Monday. "We understand it is a personal decision.”
As the chamber and its members try to navigate what, at times, has been a complex roadmap, Fiveash said that local businesses keep plowing ahead, trying to adjust to each hurdle that pops up.“So much of Fayetteville would be touched by this, either as a government contractor or 100 or more employees,” Fiveash said of President Biden’s mask plan. “Until the deadlines and details are clear, most are struggling.”
Companies with 100-or-more employees that could face reproductions from the mandate: Mann Hummel, SYKES, Goodyear and Walmart. And those in addition to public organizations, such as the school system would all have challenges.
On Thursday, Biden said companies with 100 or more employees will have to mandate vaccines or weekly COVID-19 testing under a forthcoming emergency order by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which will apply to more than 80 million private-sector workers. The administration said companies that don’t comply can face fines of almost $14,000.
 

• The new rules
  -- A COVID-19 vaccination requirement for all federal employees and all contractors that do business with the federal government;
  -- Private sector employers with 100 employees or more must ensure that their workers are either vaccinated for COVID-19 or tested weekly.
  -- Employers with 100 or more employees must provide paid time off to get vaccinated and recover from potential side effects.
   -- The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement.
  --  It is unknown at this time whether employers must count the number of employees employed as of the effective date of the ETS or if some other
  measurement period might apply.