President Joe Biden announced a number of additional initiatives his government will take to try to get more Americans vaccinated and halt the spread of coronavirus on Thursday, including mandating all federal employees to certify that they are Covid-19 immunized or face punitive sanctions.

The new precautions are being implemented in response to an increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. The great majority of people with severe Covid-19 infections are unvaccinated.

“This is an American tragedy. People are dying — and will die — who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” Biden said during remarks at the White House. “Read the news. You’ll see stories of unvaccinated patients in hospitals, as they’re lying in bed dying from Covid-19, they’re asking, ‘Doc, can I get the vaccine?’ The doctors have to say, ‘Sorry, it’s too late.'”