President Biden orders tough new vaccination rules for fed government President Biden declared we're facing "a pandemic of the unvaccinated" and said “people are dying who don't have to die.” Author: ALEXANDRA JAFFE and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (Associated Press) Published: 2:47 PM EDT July 29, 2021 Updated: 5:21 PM EDT July 29, 2021 WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new pandemic requirements for millions of federal workers as he denounced an “American tragedy” of rising-yet-preventable deaths among unvaccinated U.S. employees and others. Federal workers will be required to attest they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else face mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and other new rules. The newly strict guidelines are aimed at boosting sluggish vaccination rates among the four million of Americans who draw federal paychecks and to set an example for private employers around the country.