Since I am guessing you do not know much about employment in the US and OSHA, You probably do not know about the 'general duty clause' for OSHA.
First of all, I'm glad to get an answer based on a quote
I had to pull out - if you get my meaning
True, I have no experience with employment in the USA. I can only look from afar.
From my vantage point, however, I see that OSHA and, I guess, a lot of other entities in the US, have to deal with a bizarre situation.
When it was the last time that someone protested against the mandatory used of helmets in specific work environments? Or of special facial protections? Or against regular maintenance and inspections? Or against specific rules that "limit your liberty" when it becomes an hazard? (I'm talking about
"No Smoking near the Gas Pump", not about
"In This Area Allow to Aliens to Kidnap You.")
Exactly.
From here we have the obvious, sane, next step.
All employers are legally required to take all possible steps to create a safe work environment. Under OSHA, they are required to be proactive, including documenting any and all safety hazards associated with such.However, just mention "masks" during a pandemic and things become incendiary. Vaccines are, literally, how "they" (who is seldom specified) will control you.
...And all of sudden OSHA has to deal with norms still related with work safety, but that, in this specific case, may cause a strong pushback. The needs are the same, but the rules all of sudden are different.
So, what do you do?
IMHO (this is my opinion and nothing else, I want for this to be clear) OSHA is trying to avoid potentially incendiary norms and even language while, still, actually, getting the same result. True...
OSHA is specifically telling companies that they will not be held to the general duty clause (The basis for all OSHA mandates) at this time, in this one particular instance......But you have the words right there. Helmets are fine, vaccines are special. OSHA however gives you both freedom to choose (and you know how the US are:
FREEEEEEEDOM!!!! ) and the link where you can report side effects of your vaccine. Your choice!
Now, tell me, how many suffering from side effects will not report them?
Is this perfect? I don't know. You know US bureaucracy better than me, so you will have a better answer. What I see is a way to preserve the need to know about vaccines' side effects while avoiding unneeded confrontations.
Unless you believe an actual US government bureaucracy is actively trying to reduce the amount of paperwork it requires (but only in this one critically important instance...you know...'the worst pandemic evuh').
This is not, of course, "the worst pandemic evuh". What I think, however, is that this is the first pandemic in history to hit a World convinced that "These things don't happen anymore!!!1 It is all a ploy of the #DeepState allied with #BillGates!!!"