Biden Says He Didn’t Want to Resort to Sweeping COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

President Joe Biden speaks at the beginning of a meeting about the global supply chain, during the G-20 Summit at the Roma Convention Center La Nuvola in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 31, 2021. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the move to issue sweeping vaccine mandates for federal contractors, healthcare workers, and private-sector employees.

The Department of Labor issued a vaccine-or-test requirement to tens of millions of private-sector employees at workplaces with 100 or more workers with a Jan. 4 deadline, which has sparked concerns of worker shortages in key industries amid supply-chain bottlenecks. Federal contractors and most healthcare workers have a Jan. 4 deadline to get vaccinated without the option to submit to weekly testing under the rule.