De Blasio requiring all newly hired city employees be vaccinated
New York City will now only hire vaccinated municipal workers, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday, amid an escalation of COVID-19 precautions aimed at curbing the spread of the Delta variant of the virus.
“Effective immediately, every single new person hired by the city of New York, before they report to work, they must provide proof of vaccination,” de Blasio said from City Hall during a remote press briefing. “Every new employee must provide proof of vaccination, or they cannot start their new job.”
“That is a pure vaccine mandate for new employees,” he added. “This is another step, as we intensify the vaccination effort.”
Meanwhile, the city’s top doctor issued “a strong recommendation” that all New Yorkers, “regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask in public, indoor settings.”
“This is based on our review of the latest scientific evidence showing that the Delta variant of the coronavirus can spread even more easily than was previously thought,” Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, said during the Monday morning press briefing
“We want to strongly recommend that people wear masks in indoor settings, even if you’re vaccinated,” de Blasio said.
“Everything we do is vaccine-centric … but of course we want to make sure people are using masks in all the right ways.”
The move came after release of the Center for Disease Control’s new COVID-19 findings, which showed the Delta variant of the bug can spread even among vaccinated people. That followed new guidance announced Tuesday instructed vaccinated Americans to wear masks in indoor public places in areas where COVID-19 cases are high.
De Blasio predicted city efforts will create a “reality” in which those who refuse a vaccine will be increasingly excluded from certain settings — a potential state of affairs the mayor regards as a positive one in the effort to get more New Yorkers jabbed.
“More and more, there’s going to be a reality where, if you’re vaccinated, a world of opportunity opens up to you. If you’re not vaccinated, there’s going to be more and more things you can’t do,” he said.
“I say that to say, go get vaccinated, so you can fully participate in the life of this city, because that’s where things are going.”
But some local lawmakers said City Hall should enact even more aggressive measures to combat the recent coronavirus surge.
“Delta is moving fast in this city and we have to be even faster in our policy response,” Councilman Mark Levine, who chairs the chamber’s public health committee, said during a Zoom conference call Monday afternoon. “The health of the city is on the line here, and we need to act faster. We’re not acting fast enough to slow this.”
“We must take a strong position to encourage people to vaccinate themselves,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat of upper Manhattan and The Bronx.
“If you want to go out and have fun, you should be vaccinated,” he added. “You can’t put everybody else’s lives in jeopardy just because you want to have fun irresponsibly.”
Espaillat and Levine called for de Blasio to require proof of vaccination to enter businesses like restaurants, bars, gyms, nightclubs, with the aim of slowing the spread of the Delta variant and encouraging more people — particularly younger New Yorkers — to get their shots.
In response, a mayoral spokesperson referred to his recent comments on ramping up COVID-19 precautions.
“Given everything we’re learning, all options are on the table,” de Blasio said Friday on CNN. “I keep saying we’re climbing the ladder in terms of more and more mandates.”
Also Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said enacting a vaccine mandate for teachers and nursing home workers may be necessary down the line. Additionally, the governor advised private businesses like bars and restaurants to require proof of vaccination for patrons.
