Federal Government Won’t Impose Vaccine Mandate, But Private Companies Can, Psaki Says

President Joe Biden’s administration had no plans to impose a federal vaccination mandate or database, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed at a Friday press briefing.

Vaccine mandates or vaccine passports have become a divisive issue as the pandemic winds down and more and more Americans are receiving doses of coronavirus vaccines.

Democrat-led States like New York have already begun encouraging the practice of requiring proof of vaccination before participating in certain events.

Other states, such as Republican-led Florida and Texas, have gone so far as to ban private companies from requiring proof of vaccinations.

In lieu of the dissonance, Psaki confirmed once again that the federal government had no plans to require or support vaccine mandates, but clarified that private companies are free to do what they see fit. (RELATED: ‘If You Guys Want A Gun Show’: Gov. DeSantis Might Not Get Vaccinated On Camera Unless People Really Want To See It)

.@PressSec on vaccine passports: we are not currently considering federal mandates… Private sector companies may decide that they want to have requirements. Thats up to them. We have no plans to change our approach from the the federal government.

— Kellan Howell (@kellanhowell) May 14, 2021

The announcement came less than a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully-vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors or even indoors in most situations. The White House responded by ending its mask mandate for vaccinated people within the complex.

“Effective immediately, pursuant to the new CDC guidance, mask-wearing requirements are lifted at the White House complex for those who are 14 days after their last required dose of one of the COVID-19 shots,” announces @whca in notice to its journalist members.

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 13, 2021

Psaki first established the administration’s opposition to a federal mandate in early April, arguing the federal government had no role in requiring a vaccine credential.

“The government is not now nor will we be supporting a system that requires Americans to carry a credential,” Psaki said at the time.

“There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential,” the press secretary added.

“As these tools are being considered by the private and non-profit sectors, our interest is very simple from the federal government, which is Americans’ privacy and rights should be protected so these systems are not used against people unfairly.”

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