Joe Biden's plan to combat COVID-19 is more than a vaccine mandate. It's a testing mandate, too.
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A week ago, President Joe Biden signed a measure requiring employees of businesses with 100 or more workers be either vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing if they aren't working from home.
It's been called a vaccine mandate, but experts say it can just as easily be thought of as a testing mandate. Both will help the ultimate goal of fighting the pandemic, but there are trade-offs. Vaccination, while contentious for some, is easy and free for consumers, and a better weapon overall. Testing helps slow the spread, but it can be complicated and it's not yet known yet how costs will be covered.
"You can say it's a testing mandate you get out of by being vaccinated, or a vaccination mandate you can get out of by being tested," said Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.