The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NYC to impose vaccine mandate on private employers
From multinational banks to corner grocery stores, all private employers in New York City will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the mayor announced Monday, imposing one of the most aggressive vaccine mandates in the U.S.
The move by Mayor Bill de Blasio comes as cases are climbing again in the country and the worrisome but little-understood omicron variant is gaining a toehold in New York and elsewhere around the nation.
“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,” he said.
De Blasio, a Democrat with just weeks left in office as leader of the nation’s largest city, said the mandate will take effect Dec. 27, with in-person workers needing to provide proof they have received at least one dose of the vaccine. And they will not be allowed to get out of the requirement by agreeing to regular COVID-19 testing instead.
The measure will apply to roughly 184,000 businesses not covered by previous vaccine mandates, ranging from big corporations to mom-and-pop businesses in the city of 8.8 million people, according to a spokesperson for the mayor. The city’s private-sector workforce is 3.7 million.
De Blasio said the move is aimed at staving off a spike of infections amid holiday gatherings and as cold weather drives more people indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.
Vaccine rules across states and cities vary widely, with some states resisting any mandates and others requiring the shots for government employees or certain sectors that run a particularly high risk, such as health care workers.
But no state has announced a broad private-sector mandate as New York City has, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy.
President Joe Biden sought to impose a less far-reaching mandate nationally, requiring employees of businesses with 100 or more workers to either get vaccinated or undergo regular testing. But federal courts have blocked that plan for now ahead of the Jan. 4 deadline.
De Blasio said he expects his mandate to survive any legal challenges. Workers will be able to ask for religious or medical exemptions.
The mayor also announced that anyone 12 or older who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, go to a gym or see a show will have to produce proof of having received two shots of the vaccine, up from the current requirement of one dose.