Rep. Trone Supports President’s Vaccine Mandate For Private Employers
Credit: WFMD, Kevin McManus
He says the President is showing leadership on this issue.
Frederick, Md (KM) President Joe Biden’s mandate requiring some large businesses to have their workforce vaccinated against COVID-19 has the support of 6th District Representative David Trone (D-Md). “I’m very pleased with the President’s leadership on this,” Trone says. “He’ll be criticized but that’s the nature of politics. But you need to lead and you lead from the front.”
Last week, the President ordered that companies with 100 or more employees to require their workforce be vaccinated against the coronavirus, or face weekly testing. In addition, he signed an executive order compelling all federal employees to be vaccinated. There is no option for those who wish to opt out. Along with that, all health care facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid funding to vaccinate their employees. In addition, all staff at the Head Start program, the Defense Department and federally operated schools for Native Americans will also need to receive their COVID-19 shots.
“Vaccine mandates have been around a long, long time. They’ve been accepted by Americans,” says Trone. “You and me and all of us got polio vaccines, smallpox vaccines. Frankly, they eradicated these horrible diseases.”
Opponents have said this mandate is “unconstitutional” and an overreach by the federal government. Trone says it’s neither. “Federal government has mandated things like the polio and smallpox vaccine,” he says. “It’s really about keeping each other and America safe.”
He says vaccinations are the key to ending this COVID-19 pandemic. “If we can everybody vaccinated, it will absolutely end the pandemic just like it ended polio and ended so many other diseases,” says Trone.
Trone also says it will help the economy because it will keep companies open to serve their customers. “I’m a business guy through and through. Business needs to up and running, and we need to have customers,” he says. “By vaccinations for the people in the businesses, and that will cause more customers to be vaccinated, and that will keep our businesses up and running safely,:”
