The American Medical Association is calling on the public and private sectors to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations.

In a Tuesday statement, AMA President Gerald Harmon, said:  "The simple fact is unless a significant percentage of our population is vaccinated against COVID-19 — we could be stuck fighting this virus for many more months or even years to come. Now is the time for the public and private sectors to come together, listen to the science, and mandate vaccination.

"With the highly transmissible and more virulent (d)elta variant wreaking havoc and emergency departments once again overwhelmed, physicians and all frontline healthcare workers need help. The way to regain the upper hand in this fight is requiring vaccinations — specifically vaccine mandates."

Harmon noted states have offered numerous incentives – "from lotteries with a chance to win a million dollars or scholarship money to cash prizes. But these incentives have not gotten us where we need to be."

And he said: "The AMA has a robust policy on vaccine mandates - a tool that has been used across the U.S. and around the world for generations to defeat polio, measles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases. And now, we urge similar mandates to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic."

President Joe Biden said Monday that full approval of the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine should open the door for companies to put in place vaccine requirements on employees.

"I’m calling on more companies in the private sector to step up the vaccine requirements that will reach millions" more people, Biden said Monday at the White House.

The Associated Press reported that Biden’s comments came Monday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine among those 16 and up after previously allowing the shots to be given under emergency authorization.

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