Biden announces that staff at nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid will have to be vaccinated

Delivering remarks on Wednesday, President Biden said that employees at nursing homes that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Video Transcript

JOE BIDEN: Today, more than 90% of seniors have at least had one shot. And 70% of people over the age of 12 have gotten their first shot as well. That's good news, but we need to go faster. That's why I'm taking steps on vaccination requirements where I can.

Already I've outlined vaccine requirements that are going to reach millions of Americans, federal workers and contractors, medical staff caring for our veterans at VA hospitals, and our active duty military reservists and National Guard.

Today I am announcing a new step. If you work in a nursing home and serve people on Medicare or Medicaid, you will also be required to get vaccinated. More than 130,000 residents in nursing homes have had, sadly, over the period of this virus, passed away. At the same time, vaccination rates among nursing home staff significantly trail the rest of the country.

The studies show that highly vaccinated nursing home staff is associated with at least 30% less COVID-19 cases among long term care residents. With this announcement, I'm using the power of the federal government as a payer of health care costs to ensure we reduce those risks to our most vulnerable seniors. These steps are all about keeping people safe and out of harm's way.

If you walk into a government office building, you should know that federal workers are doing everything possible to keep you safe. If you're a veteran seeking care at a VA hospital, you should not be at a greater risk walking into the hospital than you were outside the hospital. And now, if you visit, live, or work in a nursing home, you should not be at a high risk for contracting COVID from unvaccinated employees.