Governors voice concerns against federal vaccine mandate

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice voiced his opposition toward President Biden’s vaccine mandate during a news conference on Friday.

Justice said he believes Biden overstepped.

On Thursday, Biden announced all federal workers and contractors must get vaccinated, with limited exceptions. He also said private employers with 100 or more workers will have to require them to be vaccinated or tested weekly. Employers must provide paid time off for vaccination.

“If an XYZ company out there decides in their mind they want all their employees to be vaccinated, and it’s the private business decision to do that, more power to them. But to tell that business or businesses they have to do it, we don’t have the business to do that,” Justice said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also voiced his concerns at a press event on Friday.

“I think the president made a mistake, and I say that because I think with the president’s order which would compel businesses, compel hospitals to require everybody to be vaccinated ... We want them to be vaccinated, we want them to follow the science, but this is an individual decision,” DeWine said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he’s still working to figure out the details of the ruling.

WSAZ reached out to OSHA to confirm several details of the vaccine mandate.

A spokesperson for OSHA said they haven’t determined a date of when the mandate will go into effect or who will pay for unvaccinated employee’s weekly testing.

To read the mandate, click here.

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