总统乔·拜登周二下午表示，要求所有联邦雇员接种疫苗的授权目前正在“考虑中”
熟悉讨论的消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻首席白宫记者塞西莉亚·维加，总统正在等待政策审查的结果，但很可能在周四，他将宣布联邦雇员将被要求接种疫苗，否则他们必须遵守“严格的新冠肺炎协议，如强制佩戴口罩——即使在传播率不高或不大的社区——以及定期检测。”
这发生在退伍军人事务部要求其所有健康工人得到一份工作新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)疫苗和几个小时内，美国疾病控制和预防中心引用了关于δ变体传播性的新科学，并颠倒了它的口罩指导。
联邦政府有210万工人，是美国最大的雇主，这将是单个雇主授权的最大规模疫苗接种。
undefined更多:疾控中心回溯疫苗接种者、学校口罩指南
拜登在周二下午谈到联邦工作人员的疫苗授权时说:“现在正在考虑中。“但如果你没有接种疫苗，你就远没有我想象的那么聪明。”
在结束对国家情报总监办公室的访问时，美国广播公司新闻还向总统询问了美国疾控中心周二的新指导意见，建议在公共场合为接种疫苗的美国人提供口罩，以及这是否会造成混乱，但拜登继续关注那些仍未接种疫苗的人。
“我们有一个大流行，因为未接种疫苗-他们正在播种巨大的混乱，”他说。“我们了解得越多——我们对这种病毒和三角洲变异了解得越多，我们就越需要担心、关心。”
“我们唯一确定的是，如果其他1亿人接种了疫苗，我们将处于一个完全不同的世界。所以接种疫苗。如果你没有，你就没有我想象的那么聪明，”拜登继续说道。
为进一步强调这一点，美国疾控中心周二晚间向医生发出了健康警报，提醒他们需要增加疫苗接种，“以防止新感染病例激增”，这可能“超出医疗能力”，并增加死亡人数。
伊芙琳·霍克斯坦/路透社
乔·拜登总统向“情报界工作人员”发表讲话..
在他发表上述言论后，拜登发表声明称，疾控中心的决定是“我们战胜病毒之旅的又一步”，他将在周四“制定下一步措施”让更多美国人接种疫苗时有更多的话要说。
关于疾控中心对学生的建议，拜登说这“不方便”，但给了他们一个“在最好的保护下与同学一起”学习的机会
他还承认，随着病例上升和口罩指导原则的逆转，人们担心美国可能会回到限制和关闭的状态，但他在声明中表示，“我们不会回到那个状态。”
周二早些时候，美国疾控中心引用了关于达美变异病毒传播性的新科学，并颠倒了口罩指南，建议在COVID水平高的地区，无论是否接种疫苗，每个人都戴口罩，因为病毒继续在美国迅速传播。
“这项新的科学令人担忧，不幸的是，我们的建议需要更新，”疾控中心主任罗谢尔·瓦伦斯基在周二下午的简报会上告诉记者。
在整个华盛顿，对于许多已经习惯了不戴口罩的人来说，口罩很快又重新戴上了。
尼古拉斯·卡姆/法新社，通过盖蒂图像
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯主持了一场与美国土著社区领袖的讨论...
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯周二下午会见了内政部长德布·哈兰德和美国土著投票权倡导者，自5月13日以来首次在室内戴口罩。
当被问及发展时，哈里斯微微耸了耸肩。
“我们都不喜欢戴口罩，”她直言不讳地说。
她指出，大多数此时死亡的人没有接种疫苗。
“人们需要接种疫苗。这是我们切断这东西的唯一方法。没有人喜欢戴口罩。接种疫苗。就这样，”她说，用手敲着桌子以示强调。
Biden to announce vaccine mandate for all federal employees: Sources
PresidentJoe Bidensaid Tuesday afternoon that a mandate to require all federal employees to be vaccinated is now "under consideration."
Sources familiar with the discussion told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega that the president is awaiting the outcome of a policy review, but that likely Thursday, he will announce that federal employees will be required to be vaccinated or else they must abide by "stringent COVID-19 protocols like mandatory mask wearing -- even in communities not with high or substantial spread -- and regular testing."
This comes one day after the Department of Veterans Affairs moved to require all of itshealthworkers get aCOVID-19vaccine and within hours of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant and reversed its mask guidance.
With 2.1 million workers, the federal government is the nation's largest employer and this would be the largest vaccine mandate by a single employer.
"It's under consideration right now," Biden said of a vaccine mandate for federal workers Tuesday afternoon. "But if you're not vaccinated, you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were."
As he wrapped a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ABC News also asked the president about Tuesday's new guidance from the CDC, recommending masks for vaccinated Americans in public, and whether it would cause confusion, but Biden continued to focus on those who remain unvaccinated.
"We have a pandemic because the unvaccinated -- and they're sowing enormous confusion," he said. "The more we learned -- the more we learn about this virus and the delta variation, the more we have to be worried, concerned."
"And the only one thing we know for sure, if those other 100 million people got vaccinated we'd be in a very different world. So get vaccinated. If you aren't, you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were," Biden continued.
Further pressing that point, the CDC late Tuesday issued a health alert to doctors on the need to increase vaccinations "to prevent surges in new infections" that could "overwhelm healthcare capacity" and increase the death toll.
Following his remarks, Biden released a statement saying the CDC decision is "another step on our journey to defeating the virus" and that he'd have more to say on Thursday when he will "lay out the next steps" to get more Americans vaccinated.
Regarding the CDC recommendation for students, Biden said it's "inconvenient," but gives them a chance to learn "with their classmates with the best available protection."
He also acknowledged concerns that as cases rise and mask guidance is reversed that the U.S. could be heading back to restrictions and closures but said in the statement, "We are not going back to that."
Earlier Tuesday, the CDC cited new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant and reversed its mask guidance to recommend that everyone in areas with high levels of COVID, vaccinated or not, wear a mask, as the virus continues to spread rapidly across the U.S.
"This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendation," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
Throughout Washington there was a quick return to mask wearing for many who had grown accustomed to being without.
Vice President Kamala Harris, meeting with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Native American voting rights advocates Tuesday afternoon, wore a mask indoors for the first time since May 13.
Asked about the development, Harris gave a little shrug.
"None of us like wearing masks," she said bluntly.
She noted that most people dying at this point are not vaccinated.
"People need to get vaccinated. That's the only way we're going to cut this thing off. No one likes wearing a mask. Get vaccinated. That's it," she said, hitting her hand on the table for emphasis.
