The Biden Administration announced Monday that it plans to end most of the lingering COVID-19 vaccine mandates currently on the books—meaning federal employees, international travelers and government contractors will no longer be required to get the jab. The rules are set to expire “at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the COVID-19 public health emergency ends,” the administration said in a statement. It won’t result in a sea change for the federal workforce—the vaccine mandate for government employees has been blocked by court order since January of last year. The CDC also relaxed its mandate for travelers last week. “Since January 2021, COVID-19 deaths have declined by 95%, and hospitalizations are down nearly 91%. Globally, COVID-19 deaths are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic,” the statement continues. “We are in a different phase of our response to COVID-19 than we were when many of these requirements were put into place.”
