The brave new world

The mandate requiring any and every indoor restaurant or pub or theater or gym in the five boroughs to check vaccination status, called the Key to NYC, correctly ended yesterday (thanks, Mayor Adams). But there are also plenty of people in our COVID-scarred metropolis who liked the idea that every other customer in an enclosed masks-off environment would be vaccinated.

So while the ending of the carding-at-the-door requirement may bring greater patronage to many, it doesn’t have to be one-size fits all. The removal of the mandate by Adams rightly leaves in place the power of establishments to continue the Key to NYC rules if they choose. Consider it a new addition to the old slogan of “no shirt, no shoes, no service.” Tack on “no shot.” And since the unvaccinated are not a protected class as racial or religious groups are, those businesses aren’t running afoul of discrimination laws.

Of course, if miffed unvaccinated would-be patrons want to challenge a restaurant or bar’s rules with lawsuits, that’s their right. We’d be surprised if they win — but if they do, the court’s ruling will stand.

While we suspect most establishments will drop the vax-check mandate — it takes time to look at every patron’s card and ID, and even all-vaccinated clientele can still spread COVID to one another, and to staff — some venues are sure to opt to keep a 100%-vaxed clientele an advertised feature to attract customers and reassure their workers. The individual can then decide on their own where they feel most comfortable entering and spending their money. That’s how indoor mask mandates, which vary store by store, currently work.

The main goal of Key to NYC was to push people to get vaccinated. It helped do that. If a good many places retain the rules on their own, that impetus to vax will keep going, continuing the primary benefit of the program without making anyone feel imposed upon. Wouldn’t that be nice, a COVID rule with no hard feelings.