美国医务总监·维韦克·穆尔西博士周日在美国广播公司“本周”节目的采访中为拜登政府的行为辩护，此前该节目宣布了一项全面的新冠肺炎疫苗授权对于拥有100名或以上员工的公司。
“如果总统和政府不认为这些要求是适当和必要的，他们就不会实施这些要求，政府当然准备为这些要求辩护，”穆尔西告诉美国广播公司新闻《本周》联合主播玛莎·拉德达茨，并补充说，美国有使用疫苗要求保护人口的历史。
拜登政府周四发布了新的联邦法规，将新冠肺炎视为职业危害，这意味着近1亿美国工人将被要求在1月4日前获得新冠肺炎疫苗的证明，一些工人被允许每周进行测试。
“重要的是，我们采取一切可能的措施，让我们的工作场所更加安全，”穆尔西说。“这对人们的健康有好处，对经济也有好处，这就是为什么这些要求如此有意义。”
包括肯塔基州、俄克拉荷马州和西弗吉尼亚州在内的至少27个州已经这样做了提起诉讼反对这项规定，认为这项授权违反宪法。
多个企业集团也对这一声明进行了反击。全国零售联合会称之为规则“累赘”零售商进入假日购物季。
Raddatz就这一授权可能对企业和经济产生的影响向Murthy施压，因为美国目前面临劳动力短缺和供应链紧张。
“我一次又一次地从小企业、大企业和工人那里听到，真正伤害经济的其实是COVID本身，”Murthy说。“有时候，我们会意识到我们的决定会对周围的人产生更广泛的影响。COVID提醒了我们这一点，这就是为什么在工作场所有这些类型的要求不仅有帮助，而且是加快我们走出大流行的必要步骤。”
这项授权目前影响到拥有100多名员工的企业，覆盖了全国三分之二的劳动力。但当被拉德达茨问及是否有可能将这一授权扩大到员工少于100人的雇主时，穆尔西表示，没有什么是不可能的，并辩称像这样的授权确实有效。
Murthy说:“我们在最近发布的一份报告中看到，平均而言，实施这些要求的企业的疫苗接种率提高了20%，通常会将疫苗接种率提高到90年代。“如果我们像过去一年一样，意识到疫苗接种是我们摆脱这场大流行的关键途径之一，这些要求将大大有助于我们越过终点线。”
前食品和药物管理局专员斯科特·戈特利布在谈到美国消费者新闻与商业频道时说本周，美国可能会在这些授权到位时基本完成大流行。拉德达茨指出了这一点，穆尔西说，他对该国因疫苗接种而走向何方持谨慎乐观态度。
他说:“我们国家已经有超过1.9亿人完全接种了疫苗，(而且)我们现在有一种针对5至11岁儿童的疫苗。“这意味着现在有机会接种疫苗的人数增加了2800万。我认为我们取得了巨大的进步。”
现在，有了新的消息辉瑞公司的抗病毒药丸该公司表示，这将住院和死亡的风险降低了89%。Raddatz还询问了如果获得批准，对大流行轨迹可能产生的影响。
穆尔西说，宣布避孕药是一个好消息，但他补充说，接种疫苗仍然是避免感染新冠肺炎病毒的最好方法。
“有100%有效的策略来避免住院和死亡，”Murthy说。“接种疫苗仍然必须是我们战略的核心，因为治疗药丸不能替代接种疫苗。”
随着全国范围内更小的孩子开始接种新冠肺炎疫苗，拉德达茨向穆尔蒂施压，询问全国是否有可能出现同样水平的疫苗接种儿童突破性病例就像成年人一样。
“我们在临床试验中看到了非常好的结果，”Murthy说。“随着时间的推移，我们将继续跟踪儿童，但这些结果非常非常有希望，这也是我计划尽快带5岁的孩子接种疫苗的原因之一。”
Dr. Vivek Murthy defends Biden's vaccine mandate as 'necessary'
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy defended the actions of the Biden administration in a Sunday interview on ABC's "This Week" after it announced a sweepingCOVID-19 vaccine mandatefor companies with 100 employees or more.
"The president and the administration wouldn't have put these requirements in place if they didn’t think that they were appropriate and necessary, and the administration is certainly prepared to defend them," Murthy told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz, adding that the U.S. has a history of using vaccine requirements to protect the population.
The Biden administration on Thursday released new federal rules that view COVID-19 as an occupational hazard, meaning nearly 100 million U.S. workers will be required to have proof of the COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 4, with some workers allowed to test weekly.
"It's important we take every measure possible to make our workplaces safer," Murthy said. "It's good for people's health, it's good for the economy, and that's why these requirements make so much sense."
At least 27 states, including Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia, have alreadyfiled lawsuitsagainst the rule, arguing that the mandate is unconstitutional.
Multiple business groups have also pushed back against the announcement. The National Retail Federation called the rule"burdensome"on retailers as they enter the holiday shopping season.
Raddatz pressed Murthy on the impact that this mandate could have on businesses and the economy, as the U.S. currently faces a labor shortage and strains on the supply chain.
"I hear time and time again, from small businesses, large businesses and workers is that what's really hurting the economy is actually COVID itself," Murthy said. "There are times where we recognize that our decisions have a broader effect on people around us. COVID has reminded us of that, and that's why having these types of requirements in workplaces will be not only helpful, it's a necessary step to accelerate our pathway out of the pandemic."
The mandate currently affects businesses with over 100 employees, covering two-thirds of the nation’s workforce. But when asked by Raddatz if there’s a possibility of the mandate being extended to employers with fewer than 100 employees, Murthy said nothing is off the table and argued that mandates like these do work.
"What we've seen in a report issued recently was that, on average, businesses that put these requirements in place see a 20% increase in vaccination rates, often boosting them into the 90s," Murthy said. "If we realize, as we have over the past year, that vaccination is one of our key pathways out of this pandemic, these requirements will do a lot to get us to over the finish line."
Former FDA CommissionerScott Gottlieb said on CNBCthis week that the U.S. could be mostly through with the pandemic by the time these mandates are in put in place. Raddatz pointed that out, and Murthy said he is cautiously optimistic about where the country is heading because of vaccinations.
"We've gotten over 190 million people fully vaccinated in our country, [and] we now have a vaccine for children 5 through 11," he said. "That's 28 million more people who now had the opportunity to get vaccinated. I think we made a tremendous amount of progress."
And now, with news of a newanti-viral pill from Pfizer-- which the company said reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 89% -- Raddatz also asked about the impact that could have on the trajectory of the pandemic if approved.
Murthy said the announcement of the pill is good news but added that getting vaccinated is still the best way to avoid contracting COVID-19.
"There is a 100% effective strategy to avoid hospitalization and death," Murthy said. "Getting vaccinated still must be at the heart of our strategy, as a therapeutic pill is not a substitute for getting vaccinated."
As younger kids across the country start to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Raddatz pressed Murthy on whether or not the country could possibly see the same level ofbreakthrough cases in childrenas it has in adults.
"We've seen very good results in the clinical trials," Murthy said. "We're going to continue to follow children over time, but those results were very, very promising, and it's one of the reasons why I'm planning to take my 5-year-old to get vaccinated as soon as possible."
