Running Through New York City’s Vaccine Mandate

| COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

New York City issued a mandate that requires proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for people over age 12 to dine indoors, work out in gyms, go to the movies, attend a concert and much more. 

“Vaccination makes every activity safer and this is a common-sense precaution to keep patrons of gyms, restaurants and indoor entertainment healthy,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi.

People entering these facilities will have to show a staff member their official CDC vaccination card, a photocopy of said card, their NYC vaccination record or their NYC COVID Safe App. Forms of ID such as a driver's license may also be required upon entry in order to prove identification. Without correct documentation, individuals will not be able to access indoor public amenities. 

NYC’s vaccination mandate has been in effect since Aug. 17, but as of Sept. 13, businesses are under threat of fines if they fail to abide by the protocol. Any service of unvaccinated individuals at indoor dining, fitness or entertainment venues will subject said venue to a fine of a $1,000. Additionally, if another violation of the mandate occurs within 12 months of the first, the venue will be subject to a fine of $2,000. Every violation after the second will result in a fine of $5,000. This policy puts places like concert venues and restaurants under extreme threat, as many have already shut down or suffered severely during the pandemic.

As with anything, there are a number of small exceptions to the mandate. In Mayor Bill de Blasio’s executive order enacting the law, he explains that people who enter venues for a limited purpose (such as takeout or using the restroom), nonresident sports teams and nonresident performing artists do not have to comply with the vaccine mandate. However, in this address, de Blasio specifically stated that these people would only have such privileges, “provided that such individuals wear a face mask at all times they are unable to maintain 6 feet of distance from other individuals inside the covered premises.” 

“All options are on the table. I say we keep climbing the ladder in terms of more and more mandates, tougher and tougher measures to make sure that people are vaccinated, but we have to make sure everything we do supports vaccination,” de Blasio told CNN. 

The sentiment has drawn criticism from conservatives and libertarians across the country. Over Twitter, Congressional Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy said, “Republicans have been warning against vaccine mandates for months. Leave it to New York Democrats to lead such a blatant abuse of power. Vaccine passports are un-American. Period.” 

The abuse of power that McCarthy refers to is the ability for New York’s government to discriminate based on personal medical records, a perceivably gray area in the Constitution. Nonetheless, the mandate is still in full swing.

Since March of 2020, the city has reported over two million confirmed cases and 54,000 deaths. 

Pinning it “the Key to NYC,” officials like the recently ousted Gov. Andrew Cuomo expects that the vaccine mandate will help protect the city from future waves of the Coronavirus, moving us closer to a post-COVID-19 world. 

Although, according to NYC Health Data, across the board, the percent positive cases of COVID-19 are increasing, along with hospitalizations and confirmed deaths in the last seven days. 

Currently, 72.7% of all New Yorkers are fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 and 82.0% have received a single dose. However, the long term efficacy of a mandate as it relates to increasing the amount of vaccinated individuals is yet to be determined.