Employers in New York City should require COVID-19 vaccinations for his or her staff beneath new guidelines introduced Monday by Mayor Invoice de Blasio. This is the first-of-its-kind mandate for private workers, CBS New York reports.
The vaccine mandate for private companies is aimed toward stopping a spike in COVID-19 infections through the vacation season and the colder months, the mayor mentioned.
“This is how we put health and safety first by ensuring there is a vaccine mandate that reaches everyone universally in the private sector,” de Blasio mentioned. “We’re going to do this so that every employer is on a level playing field, one universal standard.”
New York City Well being Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi mentioned whereas the town is monitoring the Omicron variant, Delta circumstances have been going up in each borough since early November.
“Vaccines work, and vaccine mandates work, particularly when joined with efforts to build vaccine confidence, provide incentives, and improve access, as we have in New York City,” he added. “We’ve seen this with our health care workers, school staff and public employees. Now it’s time for the private sector to step up and follow suit.”
The mayor mentioned the town will launch particular guidelines on December 15, earlier than the mandate takes impact December 27.
In accordance to Councilman Mark Levine, who chairs the town council’s well being committee, there will likely be a weekly testing possibility.
Vaccinations are already required for hospital and nursing residence staff and metropolis workers together with academics, cops and firefighters. A vaccination mandate for workers of private and non secular faculties was introduced final week.
Town was shifting to impose the mandate on private sector companies at the same time as federal courts have quickly blocked an try by President Joe Biden to do the identical nationally for bigger firms.
De Blasio mentioned he expects the brand new mandate to survive any authorized challenges. A spokesperson for the mayor mentioned the private sector mandate will apply to roughly 184,000 companies.
Present New York City COVID-19 guidelines additionally embrace not less than one vaccine dose for indoor restaurant eating, leisure venues and health facilities. Underneath the brand new guidelines, two photographs will likely be required for folks over 12. One dose will likely be required for youngsters aged 5 to 11, who weren’t coated by the sooner mandate, de Blasio mentioned.
De Blasio, who will depart workplace on the finish of the month and has indicated he could search the Democratic nomination for governor of New York subsequent 12 months, has sought to painting himself as a nationwide chief in the combat in opposition to COVID-19.
Republican Consultant Lee Zeldin of Lengthy Island, who is searching for the GOP nomination for governor, known as the newly introduced vaccine requirement a “job killing, small business-suppressing mandate.”
“When you dangerously combine a far-left, lame duck politician, who is anti-business, one-dimensional, unaccountable, not bright and has a perpetual ‘I always know best’ attitude,’ you get Bill de Blasio, the Worst Mayor in America,” Zeldin mentioned in an announcement.
Kathryn Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City, instructed The New York Times that her enterprise group was “blindsided” by the announcement.
“There’s no forewarning, no discussion, no idea about whether it’s legal or who he expects to enforce it,” Wylde mentioned.