New York City's Bill de Blasio became the first big-city mayor in the nation to mandate vaccines for all private employers on Monday.
Private-sector workers will have to be fully vaccined by December 27, 2021. There are two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Guidance, too, should be forthcoming, but it's not clear what the consequences are.
The move is not unexpected. The Omicron variant spread during the holidays could help reduce transmission during the winter months. The state has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, with 90 percent of residents boasting at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC. The New York Times reported that the number of coronavirus cases in the city has increased in recent weeks.
Many employers have already taken steps to get their workers vaccinations, so this edict won't be too burdensome. President Joe Biden announced on November 4 that all employers with 100 or more employees must have the vaccine by January 4, 2022. The CDC says businesses should prepare for the mandate, but it is currently on hold.
Other big cities could follow New York's lead. San Francisco has been very strict in regards to mandates and mask requirements in the past year. There, employers or hosts at a gathering have to ensure that the air is clean and that the people in attendance are protected from Covid-19 exposure.
It's a matter of public health. NYC and San Francisco were approaching endemic status before Omicron. The virus would continue to circulate. Its impact would become manageable and integrated into society, becoming more like a perennial illness than a full-blown epidemic.
Dr. Bruce Hirsch, an infectious disease expert at Northwell Health, says that precautions are a necessity. It's the only way we can get back to normal.
Last week, the White House announced a plan to help America get better protected against the Delta and Omicron variant. That plan encourages mandates among the smallest businesses as a protective measure to stave off business closings. The President said that no business should close down this winter because of Covid-19.
