Washington (AP) —When the pace of vaccination in the United States first began to slow, President Joe Biden said it would be like a million-dollar cash lottery if it was needed to shoot a weapon. I supported the incentive. But as new coronavirus infections surge, he is testing a more stringent approach.

In the last two weeks, Biden has forced millions of federal workers to prove their vaccination status or face awkward new requirements. He met business leaders at the White House and pressured them to do the same.

Meanwhile, the government is taking steps to require shots for people traveling from abroad to the United States. And the White House is considering options to become more active at the state and local levels, including potential support for school districts that impose rules to prevent the spread of the virus over opposition from Republican leaders.

“Thanks to the mayor, school supervisors, educators and local leaders who are confronting the governor to politicize the protection of our children’s masks,” Biden said Thursday. “Thank God that we have a hero like you. I stand with all of you. America should do so.”

But even as Biden became more aggressive, he refrained from using all his power to pressure Americans to be vaccinated. He postponed the proposal to demand vaccinations from, for example, all air travelers, and even the federal workforce. As a result, Biden strives to make the lives of unvaccinated people more uncomfortable without spurring a backlash in a seriously polarized country that undermines public health goals. It will be an act of stable balance.

Ben Wakana, Deputy Director of Strategic Communication and Engagement for COVID-19 at the White House, said mandating vaccines is “the right thing at the right time” and pointing out growing public confidence in vaccines. And added that it marks a new stage. In a government campaign to encourage Americans to fire.

Many Republicans, especially those seeking the party’s 2024 presidential nomination, have warned against the federal government’s overkill in making decisions that should be left to individuals. Florida’s Governor Biden and Ron DeSantis, the epicenters of the latest virus waves, have been fighting for weeks on the proper role of government during the public health crisis.

For now, Biden requires most federal workers to prove their vaccination status under potential criminal penalties, and those who do not receive the doses required for social distance are affected by the virus every week. Tested and faced with other potential work limitations.

Health workers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services need to be vaccinated, and the Pentagon has announced that it will require the military to vaccinate by next month.

A sharper federal approach is because nearly 90 million eligible Americans have not yet been vaccinated, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious disease expert, said the shot contains a delta variant. Says it is the only way to go.

White House officials say Biden initially wanted to act in restraint to ensure that Americans were ready for strong armament from the federal government. Federal movements have been carefully coordinated to encourage a wave of businesses and governments to follow.

Prior to the federal announcement, Biden administration officials briefed prominent Washington industry groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, hoping that members would follow suit. White House officials have called dozens of executives over the past few weeks on how to implement their own vaccination obligations, sharing best practices and tips for protecting the workforce. Said.

“Through vaccination requirements, employers have the power to help end a pandemic,” said Jeff Seientz, COVID-19 Coordinator at the White House. Named the municipality.

The new restrictions seem to have the desired effect. Rules combined with new concerns from the surge in Delta variants have nearly doubled the average rate of new vaccinations for Americans since last month, to about 450,000 per day.

The White House plans to develop a so-called vaccine passport infrastructure, despite criticism from companies that patchwork of local and state verification systems does not leave a clear way to enforce its obligations, Zyentz said. He said he didn’t have one yet. The Biden administration promised to share the framework of the verification system, but due to political sensitivity, it ultimately left everything to the private sector and local governments.

Still, stricter measures are being debated, such as mandatory interstate highways and changes in federal reimbursement for the treatment of unvaccinated people infected with COVID-19, but the government is now discussing it. I was worried that it would be too polarized.

Public opinion continues to shift towards demanding vaccinations as a means of restoring normality, so that does not mean that they will not be implemented in the future.

Lawrence Gostyn, a professor of health law at Georgetown University, said Biden would need to continue to increase pressure on vaccination. “He really has to use all the leverage that the federal government has, and he really has to use pressure points,” Gostyn said. “And I think there’s a few things he can do, but he hasn’t done it yet.”

“The country is completely tired of blockades, business closures and masking,” Gostyn added. “And vaccines are literally our only tool. For nearly two years, we’ve tried to mask distant occupancy limits, even for the entire blockade. And the virus just keeps getting angry. Vaccines are the only ones we have now to defeat the virus. We need to use that tool, we need to use it vigorously, and there is a large amount of public support for it. I think.”