Mayor stands behind proof-of-vax mandate
Mayor Michelle Wu on Saturday said the city is working to take the “heat” of her proof of vaccination mandate off small businesses and protect Boston’s workforce and customers, despite daily protests outside her home.
Wu announced her “B Together” initiative, which aims to relieve the burden on medical workers, businesses and residents by increasing vaccination rates and slowing the spread of COVID-19 by requiring vaccination in restaurants, bars, gyms, museums and indoor entertainment venues.
“We know that our small businesses already, one by one in different cases, have been weighing the decision on how to keep their workforce and customers safe. But without a clear policy that applies across the board, we put the burden on our small businesses to make the right calls to absorb the the heat of it,” the mayor told reporters at the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury.
“This is a citywide policy that is based on the science, that is based on the needs of our health care system to end this pandemic,” she said. “I am happy to be held accountable for that. Please, as you’re out and about in our city, do not heckle our restaurant owners and small business employees. This is a policy that is meant to be a public health support for all of us. It is not on the shoulders of our small business owners, and
I will continue to stand with them, support them and make sure that the city is providing every resource we can to get our businesses back up and running and support our economy.”
Employees at restaurants, gyms and indoor entertainment venues will have to be fully vaccinated by Feb. 15, just like their customers. And children younger than 12 will need to show proof of vaccination, beginning in March. The city is requiring proof of vaccination in any form, including the state’s app, the city’s app, a vaccination card or a photo of one on your phone.
The city also has distributed signs for business owners to post in their windows, explaining that the mandate is a city policy, not the choice of individual owners.
Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said some businesses had already required proof of vaccination.
“But the vast majority see it as another mandate,” Luz said. “Since 50% of the cases now are breakthrough cases, it’s a false sense of security.”
The mayor agreed that small business owners have endured “so much over the last 18-plus months.” But
she said, “It’s really going to take all of us stepping up, doing everything we can to end this pandemic so that they can continue to thrive, and they’re going continue to be anchors of our communities.”
“In other cities that have these policies, once it is fully implemented, it becomes part of the culture and the regular rhythm of small
businesses,” she said.
“We’ve heard that from a lot of restaurants and a lot of small businesses and customers too,” she said. “And many of the businesses that we’ve spoken to had already decided that for their own workforces, health and safety, they were going to implement this on their own several months ago. And so it is about creating a
sense of revitalizing our restaurants and small businesses, making sure people can feel comfortable going out again, and making sure that we are doing everything we can to protect our workforce and customers.”
Wu said she is implementing the vaccination policy, despite a crowd of people who regularly gather at 7 a.m. outside her home with a megaphone, waking her neighbors.
“I’ve been in politics for a long time in Boston, and I have never once backed down from a position or an issue because people are yelling,” she said. “I think it’s important, as the tone and intensity of misinformation and rhetoric ramps up across our country, in politics, to note what this means on a human level for people who are living through it. And again, I am used to this. Unfortunately, many women of color serving in positions of leadership are used to this. But I live in a two-family home on a residential street. My next door neighbor is a 96year-old veteran who deserves to have his sleep in the morning. There are many, many families on our street, who have young kids who are getting woken up by hateful messages and words being broadcast down our street and beyond over megaphones.”