NEW YORK (AP) — New York City employers will have to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers under new rules announced Monday by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The vaccine mandate for private businesses will take effect Dec. 27 and is aimed at preventing a spike in COVID-19 infections during the holiday season and the colder months, the Democratic mayor said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID and the dangers it’s causing to all of us,” de Blasio said. “All private-sector employers in New York City will be covered by this vaccine mandate as of Dec. 27.”
Vaccinations are already required for hospital and nursing home workers and city employees including teachers, police officers and firefighters. A vaccination mandate for employees of private and religious schools was announced last week.
The city was moving to impose the mandate on private sector businesses even as federal courts have temporarily blocked an attempt by President Joe Biden to do the same nationally for larger companies.
De Blasio said he expects the new mandate to survive any legal challenges. A spokesperson for the mayor said the private sector mandate will apply to roughly 184,000 businesses.
Current New York City COVID-19 rules also include at least one vaccine dose for indoor restaurant dining, entertainment venues and fitness centers. Under new mandates for indoor dining, entertainment and gyms, two shots will be required for people over 12. One shot will be required for children aged 5 to 11, who are not covered by the current mandate, de Blasio said.
.@NYCMayor discusses new Covid expansions in the city pic.twitter.com/aKsUjkStNP
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) December 6, 2021
Also: we’re broadening Key to NYC
1) to include 5-11 year-olds, approximately 20% of which are vaccinated in NYC. Get that shot by 12/14 for our youngest New Yorkers.
And 2) to include a second dose requirement by 12/27.
— Danielle Filson (@DanielleFilson) December 6, 2021
De Blasio, who will leave office at the end of the month and has indicated he may seek the Democratic nomination for governor of New York next year, has sought to portray himself as a national leader in the fight against COVID-19.
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 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 said in a statement.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the deadline for the mandate is Dec. 27.
© 2021 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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All of NYC needs to just say ‘NO’! Like Nan Reagan taught about drugs, back in the day. Just say no to DiBlasio…
IF THEY WANTED TO say no, they should have STOPPED VOTING DEMOCRATS into office…
Not so sure that’s what happened anymore Ituser…. I’d bet the communist’s cranked up the Ole’ voting fraud machine to keep Mayor Ground Hog killer in place.
EITHER that, or they REALLY ARE just that damn stupid in NY.
“Lame brain” Democrat more like it. But that’s redundant. This is not supported by science or data. The virus hit NYC third week of March, ‘20; cases, hospitalizations and deaths peaked by April 7, ‘20, and nosedived immediately thereafter. In less than 2 weeks they were at a fraction of the peak. In winter, ‘20, cases matched the April peak; hospitalizations and deaths have never since came near to approaching the same numbers. DeBlasio is a banana republic dictator wanna be. Like all Leftits, he has no regard for democracy. All evidence of omicron is that it is a cold, and might be the variant that wipes out the severe and dangerous variants. It in no way allows for this petty seizure of power.
IF it ‘followed the science’, THEN THE SCIENCE IS PROVING MOST OF THOSE catching it, spreading it and dying from it now days, ARE THOSE WHO ARE supposedly ‘vaxxed’!
If I owned a business in NY, I’d IGNORE this unconstitutional mandate.
I urge all NYPD officers to ALSO IGNORE this mandate!
Didn’t Biden just try to do this with the OSHA requirement? And the courts stifled him. What does this idiot think he’s doing? He’s got to be the 2nd worst Mayor in the Country…Lori Lightfoot is the worst.