Messaging about social distancing, mask wearing and receiving COVID-19 vaccinations could soon appear on products, on signage at business locations and on company websites under a public-private partnership announced Friday by the Biden administration.

Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response, announced that the administration is enlisting the help of the Chamber of Commerce, minority business leaders, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Business Roundtable to call on companies to promote three efforts aimed at bringing a quicker end to the pandemic:

• Require mask wearing and social distancing on their premises. 

• Reduce barriers to vaccinations by making plans for employees to get inoculated, which could include paid time off or extra compensation.

• Educating customers and the public about the benefits of masks and vaccinations.

“We are asking businesses to amplify CDC messages about masking and vaccinations on their products, properties and websites," Slavitt said.

“Together we  hope to reach hundreds of thousands of businesses representing over 100 million people to promote efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19," he continued.

Administration officials are holding a call Friday afternoon to lay out the plan to business owners and ask for their participation. However, Slavitt said the White House has already had more than 250 calls with business leaders who he said “are eager to put an end to COVID-19, get people safely back to work, rehire workers and grow the economy.”

Slavitt noted that many businesses are already doing their parts: Ford and The Gap are producing and donating millions of masks; pro sports leagues are offering stadiums and arenas to be used as vaccination centers; some retailers are giving workers paid time off to get vaccinated; and ride-hailing apps, drugstores and other companies are teaming up to offer free or discounted rides to people to be vaccinated. 

The effort comes as public health officials are voicing concerns that the recent decline in coronavirus cases and deaths is leveling off at a still-high number.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky noted that the most recent seven-day averages for cases (66,348) and deaths (2,047) are slightly higher than they were earlier in the week. While the numbers are down significantly from where they were in December and January, Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said they fear another spike is possible if Americans begin to ignore public health guidelines.

“I want to be clear: Cases, hospital admissions and deaths all remain very high, and the recent shift in the pandemic must be taken very seriously,” Walensky said.

She and Fauci added that states should not be relaxing restrictions now.

“We understand there is a tendency, given that the deflection of the curve is down, to get back to a situation where you’re approaching normal because everybody’s under the stress and strain of the long duration of this,” Fauci said. “But we really have to be careful and take a look at that curve. … If we plateau at 70,000, we are at that very precarious position that we were right before the fall surge.”