The Bay Area hovers near the top when it comes to COVID vaccination rates, but local businesses say there’s clearly more work to be done.
"We'd like to see everybody get vaccinated," said Jim Wunderman, Bay Area Council CEO.
And President Joe Biden made it clear saying, "We're in a tough stretch, and it could last a while. For American business, and our economy to truly bounce back, America's workplaces need to be COVID-free."
The president ordered all businesses with 100 or more employees to require their workers to vaccinate or test weekly.
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"This is not about freedom or personal choice,” Biden said. “It's about protecting yourself and those around you. The people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love."
Donotpay.com is on board. The San Francisco-based company helps people handle legal issues.
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"All employees should be vaccinated,” said CEO Joshua Browder. "You know, lives are at stake, and in order to get past this, so the economy can re-open and people can have their lives back again, we need to take steps."
Browder said whether it's software or fast food, customers want to know the people they're dealing with aren't a threat.
"And if you're buying a burger from McDonald's, you deserve the person giving you the burger to not have COVID,” he said. “So, it's a very simple consumer rights issue, and I think every business should require employees to be vaccinated."
Some labor experts said this is exactly what big businesses were waiting for -- a national mandate that takes the decision out of their hands.
But some local executives said they're not entirely happy with the plan particularly because it does not include postal workers.
That's about 640,000 federal employees who are exempt.
