New York City is becoming the first major city in the United States to require its residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 . Vaccines will be required if you want to go to the gym or eat indoors or go to a show. Mayor Bill De Blasio said Tuesday it will encourage residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
These new vaccine mandates are being compared to the mandates put into place in France and Italy. The mandates will be going into effect in the city August 16th and will start being enforced September 13th. This comes as the same time many children will be expected to go back to school. The Mayor said Tuesday that it will allow more people to get back to work in Manhattan and reduce the chances of a third wave caused by the Delta variant.
The Mayor is also offering a 100 dollar incentive as well to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “If you want to participate in our society fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated,” Mayor De Blasio said at a news conference. “It’s time.” “This is going to be a requirement,” he added. “The only way to patronize these establishments is if you are vaccinated, at least one dose. The same for folks in terms of work, they will need at least one dose,” he added.
On Monday Mayor De Blasio said he would not be putting a mask mandate back into effect, because he wants to focus on getting more people vaccinated. This is going against other large cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Mayor’s concern is that if the mask mandate was to be put into effect it would deter people from getting vaccinated against the virus.
In New York City, about 66% of adults are vaccinated against Covid-19, according to city data. Currently there are 3 vaccines given emergency use authorization to help fight Covid-19. The three vaccines are Pfizer and Moderna, both two-shot vaccines, and Johnson & Johnson, the one-shot vaccine.
Fully vaccinated people are protected against the worst outcomes of Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant, but there’s a sharp drop in the efficacy if an individual has only had one dose of a two-dose vaccine.
The new program, called “Key to NYC Pass,” is not a particular document, but rather the strategy of requiring proof of vaccination for workers and customers at indoor dining, gyms, entertainment and performances, including Broadway, the mayor said.
Nationally, the hospitalization rates are much higher than they were just weeks ago due to the new Delta variant that is guilty for 93% of new positive cases in the United States. Even though the daily average for positive cases is 86,000, the death rate is much lower compare to the winter peaks we experienced last year.
Children younger than 12 will not be excluded from going to indoor places. Instead, they will be asked to mask. Mayor De Blaso does hope the emergency use authorization for the age group 5–11 will be given soon.
