By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters), – White House officials said Monday that at least 90% of 3.5M federal workers covered by a presidential COVID-19 mandate had received at most one dose before the Monday deadline.

The administration has determined that 95% of federal employees comply with its requirements. This means they either have received or are about to receive vaccinations or have an pending request for a religious or medical exemption.

The federal government declined to divulge the exact number of employees who had been fully vaccinated but stated that the vast majority (90%) have been given both vaccines.

These figures show that federal employees have relatively higher vaccination rates than the U.S. overall population. This underscores the Biden administration’s effort to inoculate every American to eradicate COVID-19.

Officials stress that final numbers may change since employees must continue to submit documentation up until Monday. All submissions could not be processed yet. The numbers suggest that up to 175,000 federal employees aren’t vaccinated or in compliance with rules.

The administration stated repeatedly that it would not attempt to fire or suspend unvaccinated workers immediately. Officials stated that the fact that thousands have yet to comply will not impact holiday travel and government services.

According to Reuters, Sunday’s official said that there won’t be disruptions in government operations and services. There won’t be disruptions in travel to holidays because of the vaccination requirement.

Biden’s administration determined that 99% of Federal Aviation Administration employees, almost 98% of Customs and Border Protection employees, and 93% of Transportation Security Administration employees (TSA employees) are compliant with vaccine and exemption requirements.

The Pentagon reported that 97% of active duty force members had at least received one dose of COVID-19 on Nov. 1.

President Joe Biden’s September vaccine mandate does not apply to federal workers in the judiciary, legislative or executive branches of the U.S. Postal Service

Agency officials were told by the White House that federal employees should not be in violation of their contract. They are instructed to start “a brief period” of counseling and education that lasts five days. Employees who do not make progress in becoming fully immunized “should have a temporary suspension of not more than fourteen days.” Agency disciplinary actions will be stopped if an employee receives a second shot.

Officials believe that federal workers will become more vaccinated as the discipline process progresses.

On Wednesday, White House Office of Management and Budget released agency-by–agency data. It will include information about fully-vaccinated employees and individuals with only one dose of COVID-19. Also, it will provide exemption requests from major federal agencies such as Defense Department and Transportation Department. In the coming week, more detail will be available.

Exemption requests denied employees have two weeks to receive their first shot, and six more to obtain their second.