New hires need to be vaccinated
Monday’s announcement comes as city leaders mull how they can get more people vaccinated. The pressure is building, especially as the delta variant drives an increase in cases and hospitalizations, largely among the unvaccinated.
San Francisco is the first city or county in California — and likely around the country — to require all city workers be vaccinated. The move is gaining national momentum: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that all of the city’s 340,000 municipal employees — including teachers — will either need to be vaccinated or start weekly testing by Sept. 13.
San Francisco’s school district had said it was considering mandating all employees to get vaccinated but said last week through a spokeswoman that it “has not made vaccines a requirement for students or staff.”
Mawuli Tugbenyoh, chief of policy for the Department of Human Resources, said several cities and counties across the country have reached out with questions about San Francisco’s policy “in hopes of implementing their own.”
“A majority of our staff interact with the public, and we are seeing the delta variant unnecessarily infect people with COVID everyday,” Tugbenyoh said. “It would be a travesty if a member of the public — or one of our employees — contracted COVID when it’s preventable.”
Meanwhile, city leaders are exploring the legal and logistical implications of extending the vaccine mandate to require that bars, restaurants and retailers, for example, require customers to show proof of vaccination. Mayor London Breed’s office said that it does not have any immediate plans to do so, but didn’t rule out the possibility.
“I want to be very, very clear,” Breed said at a news conference last week. “There are a lot of folks who still need to be vaccinated. And I don’t want everyone else who did their duty to get vaccinated to have to suffer.”
As officials explore the idea, some local businesses are already mandating vaccines. The San Francisco Bar Alliance, which represents 500 bars around the city, officially recommended Monday that patrons show proof of vaccination before entry. Customers can also show a negative coronavirus test that was taken within 72 hours, or eat and drink outside if outdoor seating is available, the alliance said.
Breed said on Twitter that the recommendation was a “responsible decision,” which will help protect employees and customers.
“We need everyone to get vaccinated, especially as the delta variant continues to spread,” she said. “It’s how we can keep our city and our residents safe.”