Biden hits GOP over vaccine requirements

President Joe Biden strongly criticized Republican opposition to vaccine requirements as "the worst kind of politics" in remarks about his economic proposals and his administration's efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

"The governors of Florida and Texas are doing everything they can to undermine the lifesaving requirements that I proposed," Biden said.

"And some of the same governors attacking me are in states with the strictest vaccine mandates for children attending school in the entire country," he said.

Biden said that in Mississippi, children are required to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, hepatitis B, polio, tetanus and more. But he said the state's governor is criticizing the administration for vaccine requirements, calling it, "a tryrannical move."

"It's the worst kind of politics because it's putting the lives of citizens of their states, especially children, at risk," Biden said.

"I refuse to give in to it. These policies are what the science tells us we need to do."

The administration is requiring federal workers to get vaccinated, and Biden has OSHA to write a rule requiring employers with at least 100 workers to force employees to get vaccinated or produce weekly test results showing they are virus free.

Biden said Wall Street firms have evaluated his proposals and estimated that they would result in 12 million more Americans getting vaccinated, "which will help more businesses stay open and more Americans get back to work," he said.

IMAGE: AP