Millions must be vaccinated under Biden plan. Who will be included in Kansas City?
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Kansas City COVID-19 news
As the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus surges across the Kansas City region, officials, hospitals and communities have had to react. Here is our latest coverage.
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Thousands of employees in the Kansas City area will have to be vaccinated under a new plan announced Thursday by President Joe Biden.
The mandate includes all federal workers and contractors, and private employers with 100 or more workers. COVID-19 vaccination will be required or employees must be tested weekly. About 80 million people fall under the plan’s scope.
“We’ve been patient,” Biden said at the White House. “But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us.”
The vaccine plan will impact employees across the metro.
Several federal agencies have offices in Kansas City, including the U.S. General Services Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Reserve, Social Security and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are also federal courthouses in Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.
Some of the largest private companies here with more than 100 employees include Cerner, Garmin, Hallmark, Honeywell, H&R Block, and Burns & McDonnell.
Biden’s vaccination push will likely face legal challenges.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signaled they would fight Biden’s plan and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Friday that he isn’t ruling out a special legislative session to challenge the mandate.
In the past week, the Kansas City metropolitan area has added 3,165 new COVID-19 cases and 64 deaths, according to data tracked by The Star.
Johnson County has the highest vaccination rate in the area with 61.9% of its population fully vaccinated. That’s followed by Platte County at 45.9%, Jackson County at 45%, Wyandotte County at 44% and Clay County at 43.9%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 12:47 PM.
