On Monday, New York City is one of the first cities in the US to impose a vaccine mandate for private-sector employees. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the vaccine mandate as a preemptive measure to fight against the probable surge of Covid cases this winter.
This mandate will go into effect on December 27, covering 184,000 businesses. It does not give the unvaccinated employees the option to get tests regularly. By this date, every employee must have at least one dose of the vaccine.
“We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID and the dangers it’s causing to all of us, all private-sector employers in New York City will be covered by this vaccine mandate as of December 27.”
de Blasio said
The policy applies to workers who are in a workplace with other coworkers. In the same press conference, de Blasio said that the city would publish the guidelines on December 15 to give more information. Bill de Blasio, the outgoing Mayor, said that he has already spoken to the mayor-elect Eric Adams about implementing and enforcing the NYC vaccine mandate.
Talking about the winter season, Blasio said that it would create additional challenges as the weather is cold. The delta variant is already a cause of concern, and people will have holiday gatherings this season.
“We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of Covid and the dangers it’s causing to all of us.”
said Bill de Blasio
The specifics of the mandate will require everyone, 12 years and older, to show proof of two vaccine doses or the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. Under the prior policy, only one vaccination was sufficient for indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment venues.
The children below 12 years of age will be required to show the proof of at least one dose of the vaccine by December 14 for the same venues and two for other activities like sports, orchestra, etc.
As per de Blasio, this NYC vaccine mandate’s imposition is to avoid any lockdown chances due to the new strain of the virus.
