White House COVID group extends leave for feds to get vaccinated

Agencies are required to offer leave-eligible feds at least four hours of administrative leave per vaccine dose, according to a Wednesday update of the White House-led Safer Federal Workforce Task Force's website.

Employees that have adverse reactions will be eligible for up to two days of administrative leave. If they need more than that, they can be covered by emergency paid leave granted by the American Rescue Plan Act or by sick leave, the guidance states.

As part of a Biden administration policy announced in late July, all federal employees are required to either be vaccinated or follow stringent testing and masking requirements.

Federal employees who get vaccinated outside of work don’t get administrative leave or overtime, according to the website.

Finally, the new guidance clarifies that feds can obtain administrative leave when taking a family member to get vaccinated. Feds can get up to four hours per dose.

This decision is "based on President Biden's direction that the federal government should work aggressively to maximize the number of people receiving the COVID-19 vaccination," the website states.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 73.4% of American adults have received at least one dose.

The new guidelines landed soon after the Food and Drug Administration issued full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and an official vaccination mandate for all service members was issued by the Department of Defense.