COVID-19 has killed more than 860,000 people in the United States, and more than 5.5 million worldwide, during the two years of the pandemic.
Thousands of anti-vaccine and mask mandate protesters gathered in the Mall of Washington on Sunday to voice their opposition to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine and mask policies.
Gathering at the base of the Washington Monument and then marching toward the Lincoln Memorial, protesters carried signs reading “Make love, not mandates!!” and “Coercion is not choice.”
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released studies showing that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against hospitalization from the omicron variant, even if they no longer prevent infection as effectively.
COVID-19 has killed more than 860,000 people in the United States, and more than 5.5 million worldwide, during the two years of the pandemic and has severely impacted the economy.
On January 13, the US Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination or testing mandate for large businesses, a policy that conservative justices viewed as an inappropriate imposition on the lives and health of Americans. many Americans, while backing a separate federal law on vaccination requirements for health care facilities.
Many US companies have implemented mandatory mask policies to protect their workers, as have several municipalities and cultural organizations.
The masks continue to polarize. Biden, a Democrat, recently urged people to wear masks, noting that about a third of Americans report not wearing masks at all. Many Republican-leaning states do not have mask requirements. Some Democratic-ruled states, like California, have reinstated indoor mask mandates.