Statement by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on OMB Release of Federal COVID-19 Vaccination Data

More than 96 percent of HHS’s 88,000+ employees are vaccinated.

In response to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) release of federal COVID-19 vaccination data for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra released the following statement:

“President Biden set a goal of requiring COVID-19 vaccination of our federal employees by November 22, and at HHS we delivered. Nearly every member of our workforce who was asked to verify their status has reported that they are vaccinated or has requested an exception or medical extension, with some of our largest Divisions surpassing the Department-level vaccination rate.

“As the federal agency tasked with developing COVID-19 guidance for hundreds of millions of Americans, it is important that we follow the same guidance. As the HHS data show, we have answered the President’s call with more than 96 percent of our 88,000+ employees vaccinated against COVID-19. 

“The federal COVID-19 vaccination data released by OMB today prove that federal vaccine requirements work. Tens of thousands of HHS employees followed the science, which means they are safer today and so are their families, workplaces, and communities.

“As we celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, we have many things to be thankful for—a safer federal workforce is one of them.”

*More than 96 percent of HHS’s 88,000+ employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. This includes approximately 95 percent who are at least two weeks past a two-dose or one-dose vaccine and more than one percent who have had at least one dose of a two-dose vaccine.