President Joe Biden on Monday urged American leaders to follow his latest step and require their own employees to “please get vaccinated now.”

"If you're a business leader, a nonprofit leader, a state or local leader who has been waiting for full Food and Drug Administration’s approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do it, require it. Do what I did last month, require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements," Biden said.

His remarks come on the same day the FDA announced its first full approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID vaccines. He addressed this latest milestone by confirming the FDA went through “mountains” of testing to determine that the COVID shot was safe and highly effective “without question.”

Biden also reiterated the importance of getting vaccinated as a way to curb the growing COVID-19 cases especially among the unvaccinated, as the Delta variant gains strength.

“The overwhelming majority of people in the hospital with Covid-19 or almost all those dying from Covid-19 are not vaccinated, not vaccinated,” Biden said. “If you’re fully vaccinated – both shots plus two weeks – your risk of severe illness with COVID-19 is very, very low.”

Results showed the Pfizer COVID vaccine was 91% effective in preventing the virus, the FDA said.

About 12,000 of the recipients were followed for at least six months during the clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine, with more than half followed for at least four months.

Since Pfizer got full approval, some regions have started requiring their employees to get vaccinated or face severe consequences. The most recent and notable vaccine mandate came from New York City, which now requires all public school staff to get vaccinated by Sept. 27.

“All around the world, people want these vaccines here in America,” he said. “They’re free, convenient and waiting for you. So please go today, for yourself, for your loved ones, for your neighbors, for your country."

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