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"That's under consideration right now," Biden told a reporter
who asked whether the administration was weighing such a
requirement.
Biden made the remark during a visit to the Office of the
Director of National Intelligence in McLean, Virginia, as his
administration's health experts advised Americans fully
vaccinated against COVID-19 to start wearing masks again in some
circumstances due to the virus' fast-spreading Delta variant.
The White House has told its staff to start wearing masks again,
a White House official said on Tuesday.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that the
administration had not made a determination about whether it
would be legal for Biden to require federal employees to be
vaccinated. The U.S. federal government is the country's largest
employer.
Biden plans to announce "next steps" on Thursday in the effort
to get more Americans to receive shots, the president said in a
separate statement released by the White House.
"In the meantime, more vaccinations and mask wearing in the
areas most impacted by the Delta variant will enable us to avoid
the kind of lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures and
disruptions we faced in 2020," he said.
"Unlike 2020, we have both the scientific knowledge and the
tools to prevent the spread of this disease. We are not going
back to that."
The new health guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention applies to fully vaccinated Americans in
indoor public places only in regions where the coronavirus is
quickly spreading.
Biden said he "certainly will" follow the guidance when he
travels to such areas.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt and Mohammad
Zargham in WashingtonEditing by Bill Berkrot and Matthew Lewis)
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