In a sweeping move to close the chapter on what he calls the “pandemic power grab,” President Donald Trump has ordered every federal agency to erase all records related to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, mandate compliance, and exemption requests.
The Aug. 8 directive from Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor gives agencies until Sept. 8 to comply. “Effective immediately, federal agencies may not use an individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status… in any employment-related decisions,” Kupor stated.
The order is a direct reversal of Biden-era policies that Trump and his allies say punished hardworking Americans for making personal medical choices. “Things got out of hand during the pandemic, and federal workers were fired, punished, or sidelined for simply making a personal medical decision,” Kupor said on X. “Thanks to @POTUS’s leadership, we’re making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects.”
Under the policy, every trace of those records must be scrubbed from official personnel files unless an employee chooses to keep them. Trump’s team says this not only restores privacy rights but also sends a message: there will be no lingering blacklist for those who resisted government overreach.
Biden’s 2021 vaccine mandate for federal employees, later halted by a federal judge, became a flashpoint in the debate over medical freedom. Even after its repeal, federal agencies continued tracking vaccine data—something Trump’s order now makes illegal.
The move comes as federal health guidance shifts. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced that COVID shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. However, the CDC still clings to its pro-vaccine stance.
The White House has yet to respond.
