Three in five back Biden vaccine requirement for businesses

Nearly 3 in 5 American adults support President Biden’s plan to require businesses with 100 or more employees to require that their workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing, according to a new Morning Consult-Politico poll.

The poll, which was conducted between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13, found that 58 percent support Biden’s new vaccine requirement for private businesses. This includes 80 percent of Democrats and only 33 percent of Republicans — indicative of the partisan divide over such mandates.

The national tracking poll found similar support for other steps that Biden announced last week as part of a new, more aggressive plan to reach the 80 million eligible Americans who have not yet received a dose of coronavirus vaccine.

Fifty-six percent support Biden’s decision to require most federal employees and contractors to get vaccinated, without the option of COVID-19 testing as an alternative, according to the poll. This includes 81 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of Republicans. 

Sixty-two percent said they support the White House encouraging states to require COVID-19 vaccinations for school employees, including 84 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of Republicans, the poll showed. And 60 percent support requiring COVID-19 vaccines for health care workers at Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals, including 82 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of Republicans.

Biden has endured considerable pushback from Republican governors and elected officials over the mandate. His critics have accused him of infringing on personal freedoms and described the vaccine rule for businesses in particular as federal overreach. Some GOP governors have threatened to sue Biden over the rule, which will be finalized by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the coming weeks.

A number of large businesses have already moved to mandate vaccines for their workers. Legal experts also believe that Biden is on strong footing to issue the rule because of the powers granted by Congress to the president through the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. 

Still, the federal judiciary, which has a conservative tilt due to the raft of judges confirmed under former President Trump, could be a wild card in the legal fight over the rule.

The Morning Consult-Politico poll surveyed 2,200 adults. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.