Biden pushes federal workers to get vaccinated

President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington (Susan Walsh/AP)

Millions of federal workers in the US will be required to verify they have been vaccinated against coronavirus or else face mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and other new rules, the Biden administration announced.

The newly strict guidelines are aimed at boosting sluggish vaccination rates among the four million Americans who draw federal pay cheques and to set an example for private employers around the country.