White House Says 92% Of Federal Employees Now Vaccinated, Holdouts Remain

Federal employees are almost all fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with 92% inoculated with at least one dose and another 5.5% who have sought exemptions, the White House said Wednesday.

In an update to the federal government’s own vaccination efforts, the White House detailed how its agencies have been responding to President Joe Biden’s push to lead by example in vaccinating workers.

Every federal agency recorded a compliance and vaccination rate well over 80% with the highest being the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) at 99.1% for compliance and 97.8% for vaccinations. The lowest rates were found at the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration, but each scored over 85% in each category.

The Department of Defense — the largest agency in the U.S government and the biggest employer in the nation — had a compliance rate of 96.1% with a 93.4% vaccination rate, counts that include both civilian and uniformed military personnel. The Department of Veterans Affairs, the second-largest agency, had a 98% compliance rate and an 87.8% vaccination rate.

Those requesting an exemption are deemed in compliance with the mandate, as the government decides on their requests. The remaining 3% of federal employees are unvaccinated and out of compliance with the federal government's vaccination efforts. Discipline for these employees is being meted out differently depending on the agency.

It is unclear if these figures include the nearly 5 million federal contractors who are employed by the government. On July 29, Biden included vaccination requirements for federal contractors as part of his initial executive order mandating agencies begin vaccinating their workforces.

Several large contractors like Microsoft and IBM have required that their workers be vaccinated. On Nov. 1, the administration updated its guidelines for how federal contractors can come into compliance with the president's executive order and allowed flexibility in how they handled non-compliant employees.