New York City mandates vaccinations for private sector workers

New York City - From multinational banks to corner grocery stores, all private employers will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID - 19, the mayor announced Monday, imposing one of the most aggressive vaccine rules in the nation.

The move by Mayor Bill de Blasio comes as cases are climbing again in the U.S. and the worrisome but little-understood omicron variant is gaining a toehold in New York and elsewhere around the country.

He said that we in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike to do something bold to stop the growth of COVID and the dangers it is causing to all of us.

De Blasio, a Democrat with just weeks left in office as the 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. 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, ranging from big corporations to mom- and pop businesses in the city of 8.8 million people, according to a spokesman for the mayor. The private sector workforce of the city is 3.7 million.

De Blasio said the measure was meant to stave off a surge in infections amid holiday gatherings and as cold weather drives more people indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread.

Vaccine rules vary widely across states and cities, 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.

New York City has a broad private sector mandate, but no state has announced it, according to the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy.

President Joe Biden wanted to impose a less far-reaching mandate nationwide, requiring employees of businesses with 100 or more workers to either get vaccinated or undergo regular testing. The federal courts put that on hold ahead of the Jan. 4 deadline.

De Blasio expects his new mandate to survive any legal challenges. Workers will be able to ask for religious or medical exemptions.

The mayor said that anyone 12 or older who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, go to a gym or see a show will need to show proof of having received two shots of the vaccine, up from the current requirement of one dose. Children ages 5 to 11 will have to show proof of at least one shot, de Blasio said.

De Blasio said he will release more details on how the mandate will be enforced next week.

There are about 5.9 million adults in New York City who have received a first dose, out of 7 million people age 18 and up. That translates to 84%. Some cases of the omicron variant have been reported in almost one-third of the states, but scientists can't say whether it is more dangerous than previous versions. The delta variant still accounts for nearly all infections in the U.S., and a rise in cases in recent weeks has swamped hospitals, particularly in the Midwest and New England.

The vaccine will still provide protection against the new form of the virus, according to health experts.

The central weapon in the war against COVID is the vaccination. It is the one thing that has worked every time, de Blasio said at a virtual news conference.

A lot of people in the private sector say to me they believe in vaccination but they are not quite sure how they can do it themselves, he continued. In New York City, vaccines are already required for hospital and nursing home workers and for city employees, including teachers, police officers and firefighters. A mandatory vaccine mandate for employees of private and religious schools was announced last week.

De Blasio, who leaves office at the end of the month and has indicated he may seek the nomination for the governor of New York next year, has tried to portray himself as a national leader in the fight against COVID-19. He credits the policy with raising vaccination rates among the reluctant because of the fact that his other vaccine mandates have survived legal challenges.

The new mandate takes effect days before de Blasio leaves office and Democrat Eric Adams is due to be sworn in. The mayor-elect will make decisions on science, efficacy and the advice of health professionals when he is in office, according to Evan Thies, a spokesman for Adams. The Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, which includes 30,000 businesses big and small, said it supports the tightened measures.

Other industry groups said the plan would add to the strain on businesses struggling to recover from the Pandemic and find enough employees.

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said it was not clear who will enforce the mandate and whether it will be legal.

It is hard to imagine that the mayor can do what the president is challenged to accomplish, according to Wylde.

The deadline for the mandate is December 27. This story has been corrected.