The mandate has two separate sections that affect certain workers differently. The first part pertains to companies that employ 100 or more people, and requires that these workplaces get their employees fully vaccinated by the deadline, or submit unvaccinated employees to weekly Covid testing.

This section of the mandate was given by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and OSHA also stipulates that companies are required to compensate their workers for the time they spent getting the shots. It will apply to roughly 80 million workers.

But the rule also says that employers are not required to pay for the testing of unvaccinated employees that refuse the shots. This is widely seen as a tactic to encourage affected workers to take the route of vaccination.

The second part of the new mandate which affects health care workers differs from the first part in that these workers do not have the option to test out weekly. A total of 17 million health care workers must provide proof of full vaccination against Covid by January 4.

Biden announces official mandate deadline after saying mandates are effective

“We have to do more to vaccinate the 66 million unvaccinated people in America; it’s essential. Vaccine requirements that we started rolling out in the summer are working,” Biden said in a statement on vaccine mandates.

“The plan I laid out in September is working. We’re heading in the right direction. We have critical work to do but we can’t let up now,” he added.

“I’m calling on more businesses to step up, I’m calling on more parents to get their children vaccinated when they are eligible. And I’m asking everyone, everyone who hasn’t gotten vaccinated: get vaccinated. That’s how we put this pandemic behind us and accelerate our economic recovery.”

Biden pointed to recent COVID-19 data showing that cases had dropped by 47% and hospitalizations by 38% across the country since mandates have been introduced.

Biden encourages booster shots as FDA and CDC work to approve Johnson & Johnson and Moderna third shots

The President has also encouraged those eligible to receive a booster shot.

While Pfizer/BioNTech booster shot has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the administration is currently reviewing the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna boosters so that the third shot can become more widely available. The FDA hopes to release its final decision in the next month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also hoping to make their own decision within that window.

And while some adults and seniors prepare for their booster shots, the FDA and CDC have officially approved the vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11.