BUFFALO, N.Y. — Western New York is chiming in on President Biden's latest effort to curb COVID-19 numbers and control the delta variant.
On Thursday, the Biden Administration announced a new federal vaccine mandate as part of a new "action plan" to boost vaccination across the country. According to this new mandate, employers with more than 100 workers must require them to be fully vaccinated.
With 80 million Americans still unvaccinated, the president says this effort is part of a new measure to reach herd immunity.
So, the question for Western New Yorkers is, how will this mandate affect employers and employees at home?
Dottie Gallagher is the president and CEO of Buffalo Niagara Partnership. She says she strongly believes local businesses and business owners will support Biden's mandate because they want to stay up and running.
"I know a number of local employers that were considering mandating vaccinations even without a government mandate," Gallagher-Cohen says.
Given the unprecedented challenges many industries and businesses have faced during the pandemic, Gallagher-Cohen believes this new mandate will not only help create a sense of stability and safety moving forward for employers, but will also help establish of comfort that will invite employees back into the work space.
"Employers are concerned that they have safe workplaces," Gallagher-Cohen says. "People are wanting to be places that are safe and I think the vaccinations are a big part of that."
During Thursday's announcement, Biden said the federal government will work to provide more virus test kits at large retailers in support of the mandate.
When asked why she believes businesses will support this push, Gallagher-Cohen tells 2 On Your Side, "There's two things businesses love, you know, a level playing field and certainty. So because this is a federal mandate, this sort of really doesn't put New York at a disadvantage over other states."
President Biden is also signing an executive order to require vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors working with the government; testing is not an option.