U.S. authorities ordered large companies to vaccinate employees by January 4

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has required about 84 million employees of private companies to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus or tested regularly by January 4. That’s according to a statement released Thursday by the White House press office.

According to the document, companies with 100 or more employees are required to ensure that all employees are fully vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 at least weekly. The required vaccinations for full vaccination must be given no later than January 4. Employers are required to give subordinates paid time to get vaccinated. U.S. officials estimate these rules will affect about 84 million employees. How many have already been vaccinated is not specified.

The statement stressed that vaccination against coronavirus no later than January 4 are also required to employees of health and other institutions participating in the programs of Medicare and Medicaid. Authorities estimate that we are talking about a total of about 17 million people.

The U.S. administration has previously required federal contractors to vaccinate employees against the new coronavirus by Dec. 8. That deadline has been extended to Jan. 4.

More than 46.2 million cases of the coronavirus have been identified in the United States since the pandemic began and more than 750,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University, which conducts calculations based on federal and local government information. For both of these indicators, the country ranks first in the world.