(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden will announce a requirement for all executive branch employees and federal contractors to be vaccinated, part of a renewed push to quell the Covid-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the plan said. 

Biden will sign an executive order Thursday requiring the vaccinations, said the person, who spoke on on condition of anonymity. The move marks a significant hardening of the administration’s position on vaccine mandates amid the surge in the delta variant that’s threatening to overwhelm hospitals in parts of the U.S.

The president plans to highlight steps to require more vaccinations, keep schools open and increase testing in remarks on the federal Covid response scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at the White House. 

The speech will include “putting in place additional requirements” on vaccines, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told CNN on Thursday. “The overall goal is to speak directly to the American people about what’s next on Covid.”

Biden focused the early months of his presidency on taming the pandemic, though it has surged again as the delta variant spread, the vaccination campaign slowed and as restrictions and mask mandates lifted. 

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