Edge's News: Pandemic of the Unvaccinated...urging state and local governments to give $100

The Real threat is the pandemic of the unvaccinated.. President Joe Biden

President Biden is urging state and local governments to give $100 to anyone newly vaccinated against the coronavirus, part of a push to boost immunisations as infections and hospitalisations rise with the swift spread of the delta variant of the virus.

                    

Cities and states have already turned to multimillion-dollar lotteries, free food and other incentives to sway the millions of Americans who remain hesitant about or outright opposed to highly effective vaccines. With the country now facing what the Biden administration calls a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” — and the highly contagious delta variant spurring some renewed restrictions — governments are under new pressure to get shots into the arms of the reluctant.

A slew of announcements Thursday signaled Biden’s more aggressive approach, as he said all federal employees must get immunized or face new testing, masking and distancing rules — a shift that will affect more than 4 million people. Biden is also asking the Defense Department to “look into how and when” it will require vaccinations for members of the military, the White House said.

The federal push for cash incentives follows New York City’s announcement of $100 giveaways this week. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) quickly said after Biden’s announcement Thursday that his state would follow suit.

The Treasury Department emphasised in a Thursday news release that funding for vaccine incentive programs can come from the $350 billion in pandemic relief given to state, territorial and local governments in a $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed in March.

“For these governments and the communities they represent, no task is more urgent than turning the tide on the pandemic, and there is no better tool than vaccination,” the Treasury Department said. While some have questioned the effectiveness of cash rewards, the White House covid-19 response team said in a tweet that “we’ve seen financial incentives work in the past.”