Center City Philadelphia reacts to Biden's vaccine orders

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Among the new orders announced Thursday by President Joe Biden, private employers with more than 100 workers must require COVID vaccinations or offer weekly testing.

In Center City Philadelphia on Friday, some believe this is about time.

"I was overjoyed. Finally Biden has taken a stand, and he really has to, and people need to do this," said Lillian Eyre of Germantown.

Eyre added, "This is what we need to get the economy back, this is what we need to get students back in the classroom. This is what we need to make people safe."

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Biden sharply criticized the tens of millions of Americans who are not yet vaccinated, despite months of availability and incentives.

In recent months, private employers, including Walmart and 6abc's parent company Disney, have announced vaccine requirements for at least some employees.

The new rules could affect as many as 100 million Americans, although it's not clear how many of those are currently unvaccinated.

"We want everybody to be safe, we want everybody to be able to go back to work and live a normal life, so I think it should be mandated," said Bear Coleman of Philadelphia.

"There will definitely be challenges, especially probably smaller businesses closer to the 100 employees, but I think it's something we have to do. It's to save lives so it's very important," said Ciara Quattlebaum of Claymont.

But others believe the vaccination or weekly test model erodes their personal rights.

"I'm not vaccinated. It would definitely affect me and my own personal feelings and things like that," said Christopher Gilman of Cheltenham.

While Gilman believes a vaccine mandate makes sense in certain industries, like the medical field, he does not believe they should be required for all.

Gilman added, "I would get another job or I would totally change industries just to hang onto that personal freedom."

Companies could face hefty fines for non-compliance.

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On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a requirement that all companies with 100 or more employees must ensure that workers are vaccinated or be tested weekly.