N.Y.C. Breaks New Ground With Vaccine Mandate for All Private Employers

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New York City Institutes vaccination mandate for all private employers

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said a comprehensive coronavirus vaccine mandate would go into effect for all private employers on December 27 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Mr de Blasio said the measure will apply to around 184,000 companies.

Omikron is there. No more debate about it. It doesn’t matter that we only get a few cases in different states. We know it’s here, we know it’s going to spread. It seems very transferrable right now. We are waiting for more facts and more evidence, but that’s what we’re seeing so far. What does that mean? As you can expect, and I’m sorry to say, you can expect it to spread to the community. We have to assume that it will be widespread. We have to assume that it presents us with a real challenge. In this way, we put health and safety first by making sure there is a vaccine mandate that reaches out to everyone in the private sector broadly. A lot of people in the private sector have told me they believe in vaccinations, but they’re not exactly sure how to do it themselves. Well we will do it. We’re going to do this so that all employers have a level playing field, a universal standard by December 27th, we’re going to be working with companies all over the city and that’s nearly 200,000 companies that are not yet covered key to NYC guidelines , now. We will work with the business community. We’ll be talking to them in the next few days about how to put together the right implementation plan. The specific guidelines and rules will be published on December 15th.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said a comprehensive coronavirus vaccine mandate would go into effect for all private employers on December 27 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Mr de Blasio said the measure will apply to around 184,000 companies.creditCredit…Kirsten Luce for the New York Times

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday morning a comprehensive coronavirus vaccine mandate for all private employers in New York City to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.

Mr de Blasio said the aggressive measure, which will go into effect December 27 and which he described as the first of its kind in the nation, was needed as a “pre-emptive strike” to stop another wave of coronavirus cases and spread the word reduce in the winter months and on public holidays.

“Omicron is here and it looks like it’s very transferrable,” he said in an interview on MSNBC. “The timing is terrible with the winter months.”

New York City already has vaccination regulations in place for city workers, as well as for employees and customers in indoor, entertainment and fitness studios. Nearly 90 percent of New York City’s adult residents now have at least one dose of the vaccine.

But Mr de Blasio said the city must go further to fight another wave of the virus in New York City, once the center of the pandemic. Some private employers require their employees to be vaccinated, but many others do not.

Mr de Blasio said the new measure would apply to around 184,000 companies. Employees who work personally in private companies must receive a dose of the vaccine by December 27; Remote workers are not required to receive the vaccine. Alternatively, there is no test option.

The city plans to offer exceptions for medical or religious reasons, Mr de Blasio said. City officials, after consulting business leaders, will publish detailed guidelines on issues such as enforcement by December 15.

The mayor also announced that the food and entertainment rules will apply to children ages 5-11 who will need a dose to enter restaurants and theaters from December 14, and that the need for adults will start at a dose of one Vaccine will be increased to two starting December 27, except for those who originally received the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine.

Mr. de Blasio and Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference last Thursday to announce the first five cases of the Omicron variant in New York state, and several more have been announced in New York City since then. The number of coronavirus cases in the city has skyrocketed in the past few weeks; The number of daily cases has increased more than 75 percent since November 1.

Mr de Blasio, a Democrat who has been in office for less than a month, said he was confident the new mandate would weather any legal challenges, noting that previous city mandates had been maintained.

“They have won every time in court – state court, federal court -” the mayor said on MSNBC. “And that’s because they’re universal and consistent.”

Eric Adams, the mayor-elected who will take office on January 1st, is on vacation in Ghana this week. His spokesman Evan Thies said in a statement that once he becomes mayor, Mr Adams will evaluate the move.

“The mayor-elected will evaluate this mandate and other Covid strategies when in office and make decisions based on science, effectiveness and advice from health professionals,” he said.

Without saying whether she agreed with the measure or not, Ms. Hochul told reporters on Monday afternoon that the mayor had called before his announcement.

“I was aware of this and I support local government leaders in implementing the guidelines to combat Covid as they believe they are most helpful in managing this pandemic within their own jurisdictions,” she said.

Ms. Hochul has tried to differentiate herself from her predecessor by empowering local governments to lead the pandemic response in their locations.

“New York City is one of the towns in New York State, as is Erie County,” she noted.

The Biden government attempted a federal mandate that would require all major employers to require their workers to be vaccinated or have weekly tests from January, but that measure will stall in court.

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OSHA) introduced an “emergency” rule earlier this month requiring vaccinations for employees of companies with at least 100 employees, although it excludes those who work at home or exclusively outdoors.

Georgia M. Pestana, New York City business advisor, told a news conference Monday that the city’s health commissioner clearly has legal authority to mandate New Yorkers to protect themselves during a health crisis. She argued that the legal issues surrounding the Biden government’s mandate varied and centered on whether OSHA had the authority to do so.

Kathryn Wylde, President of a prominent group of companies, the Partnership for New York City, was surprised by the announcement by Mr. de Blasio.

“We were blind,” she said. “There’s no warning, no discussion, no idea if it’s legal or who he’s expecting to enforce.”

About half of Manhattan office employers have issued vaccine mandates, she said, although some guidelines include testing options and medical and religious exemptions.

There are still many questions about the Omicron variant. There is some early evidence that the illness can only be mild, although this observation was mainly based on cases in South Africa among young people who are generally less likely to develop Covid. Scientists are also waiting to see if cases result in significant hospital admissions and deaths; both are trailing indicators.

And right now, scientists say there is no reason to believe that Omicron is insensitive to existing vaccines, though they may turn out to be less protective to an unknown extent.

Grace Ashford contributed to the coverage.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/06/world/omicron-variant-covid