NYC to impose vaccine mandate on private sector employers
Highlight
- Private employers in NYC must make it mandatory to vaccinate employees.
- This step has been taken amidst growing concern for the new Kovid version ‘Omicron’.
- The US has made negative COVID reports mandatory for all recent travelers.
All private employers in New York City will require their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the mayor announced on Monday, one of the most aggressive vaccine regulations in the country.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s move comes at a time when cases are on the rise again in the US and the worrying Omicron version is rising in New York and elsewhere across the country.
“We have decided to use a preemptive strike in New York City to do something really bold to stop the further development of COVID and the threats it poses,” he said.
Democrat de Blasio, who is in office as leader of the country’s largest city, said the mandate would take effect on December 27.
Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he said the move is aimed at preventing a spike of infections between holiday gatherings and moving more people indoors during cold weather, where the virus is likely to spread. happens more.
Vaccine mandates vary widely among states and cities, with some states opposing any mandates and others requiring shots for government employees or some areas that run particularly high-risk health care workers. .
But most of the authorities have not announced a mandate to reach out to the private sector, nor a mandate covering so many people.
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President Joe Biden has sought to impose a similar mandate nationally, applying to businesses with 100 or more workers, but federal courts have blocked it before the January 4 deadline.
De Blasio said he hopes his new mandate will avoid any legal challenges. A spokesman for the mayor said it would apply to about 184,000 businesses in the city, which has a population of 8.8 million.
Vaccinations are already required for hospital and nursing home workers and city workers, including teachers, police officers and firefighters. The vaccination order for employees of private and religious schools was announced last week.
Also, the mayor declared that anyone 12 years of age or older who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, go to the gym, or watch a show will be required to exceed the current requirement for a dose, Must provide proof of having received two shots of the vaccine. In addition, proof of at least one shot would be required for children ages 5 to 11, de Blasio said.
De Blasio, who steps down at the end of the month and has indicated he may seek the nomination for governor of New York next year, has sought to portray himself as a national leader in the fight against COVID-19. has demanded.
The mandate takes effect a few days before de Blasio leaves office and Democrat Eric Adams is to be administered the oath of office. Adams spokesman Evan Thijs said in a statement that the mayor-elect “will evaluate this mandate and other COVID strategies when he is in office and make a determination based on the science, efficacy and advice of health professionals.”
Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, called the newly announced vaccine requirement a “job-killing, small business-suppressing mandate.”
“When you add dangerously a far-left, lame-duck politician who is anti-business, one-dimensional, unaccountable, not bright and has a relentless ‘I always know best’ attitude, So you get Bill de Blasio, the worst mayor in America,” Zeldin said in a statement.
Read also: Omicron scares: US mandates negative COVID-19 reports for travelers top point
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