Biden to announce new COVID-19 steps ahead of U.N. meeting, surgeon general says

[September 13, 2021]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 before the U.N. General Assembly meets, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Sunday.

Murthy did not specify what those steps would be. The next session of the General Assembly opens Tuesday; the first day of general debate will be the following week.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Murthy defended Biden's efforts to expand vaccination in the United States.

"There will be more actions that we continue to work on, especially in the global front," he said.

Biden on Thursday said he would require federal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and mandate that large employers either require their workers to be vaccinated or regularly tested.

United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy delivers remarks during a news conference with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Biden said the United States had donated 140 million vaccine doses to other countries. "That's American leadership on a global stage, and that's just the beginning," he said.

(Reporting by Brad Heath and Jeff Mason; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman)

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