Member of federal COVID-19 task force weighs in on the future of re-opening

It's been one year since many businesses closed their doors and sent their employees home. Quickly we were all forced to adapt and learn new ways to work from home so people could stay employed and business could continue.

With numbers trending in the right direction, experts say we can't become complacent.

To be able to reopen businesses fully, Andy Slavitt from President Joe Biden's COVID-19 task force says businesses need to do their part, too. They can play a role in reopening by urging employees and customers to wear their masks and also encouraging employees to get vaccinated.

"There's something that could feel coercive about 'hey we're going to pay you to do this' vs. 'hey, you know what we know you have to be away from work and we know you might have a headache for a couple hours so it makes sense for us if we're going to ask you to do this to give you some incentive,' whether it's paid time off or whatever is appropriate for a particular employer," Slavitt said.

Slavitt also made it very clear that when it comes to a vaccine mandate that is not something that will come from the federal government.