NYC To Require Vaccinations For Indoor Dining, Gyms And Other Venues

New York City will require proof of vaccination for all those working and patronizing indoor restaurants, gyms and indoor performance venues.

On Tuesday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the plan, which is said to be the first of its kind in the country, at a press briefing attended by representatives from the restaurant industry, lawmakers, and public health experts.

The maneuver reflects another strategy to incentivize vaccinations as the delta variant drives up coronavirus cases to dangerously high levels. Individuals can offer proof of their vaccination using the city's COVID safe app, the state's Excelsior app, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paper card issued at vaccination sites.

"If you don’t get vaccinated, you’re going to get left out of a lot of things," the mayor said. The city will roll out the program in the coming weeks, with an expected start date of August 16th. The mandate will go into effect starting in mid-September. To check on compliance, the city plans to deploy oversight officers from its Health Department and other agencies, according to health commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi.

But there were questions left unanswered about how the city would enforce such a mandate and whether all establishments would agree.

Asked if the mandate would apply to children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated, city officials did not offer a definitive answer but left open the possibility of reasonable accommodation. The mayor said that the details would be worked out in the coming weeks. He also claimed that a vaccine authorization could be available as early as next month for children between the ages of 5 thru 11, though President Joe Biden recently cited anywhere between August and October.

De Blasio said he saw the new policy as giving people, particularly younger New Yorkers, "one more push" to get the vaccine. The proposal is similar to one in Europe in which people must show a "Green Pass"—proof of vaccination or a negative covid test—in order to enter bars, restaurants, museums, indoor sports venues, and other cultural or entertainment sites.

But the city's plan, dubbed the "Key to NYC Pass," will be vaccination only. It will not accept proof of a negative test.

Immediately following the mayor's press conference, Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, issued a statement in support of the new policy. Although he called mandating vaccination in the restaurant industry a "very difficult step," he said it would ultimately prove essential in protecting public health and preventing a return to restrictions and shutdowns.

"While having to require this requirement is far from ideal," he said, "now, we need government to support restaurants, bars and workers with clear and fair guidelines and an extensive outreach and education program, while also implementing more policies to support the industry’s recovery.”

New York City is electing to tighten vaccination requirements even as it passes on reinstating an indoor mask mandate, a move that has drawn criticism from public health experts who said the city needs to take a multi-pronged approach. Denis Nash, an epidemiology professor at CUNY, argued that the vaccine passport policy mainly benefits those with more disposable income or people with relative privilege.

"It seems like another example of relying solely on vaccination and not deploying a strategy that meets New Yorkers where they are at right now to help protect their health," Nash said.

Interviews with younger New Yorkers in the Bronx and Brooklyn have suggested that this segment of the population is stubbornly resistant to getting vaccinated, despite the increasing number of incentives the city has released, including $100 cash cards and access to the city's upcoming "Homecoming Week" concerts.

"Real public health is about protecting the health of all New Yorkers, regardless of vaccination status, race/ethnicity, income, education, political beliefs, and whether they are yet of voting age, etc.," Nash said.

Other critics have raised privacy concerns about the city's vaccine app. This weekend, Albert Fox Cahn of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project told WNYC that the app does not verify the uploaded documents.

"I uploaded a photo of Mickey Mouse when I registered for it, and then it gave me a pop-up box saying are you affirming this is accurate," he said. "You click yes. And then you're done."

As with other recent policy announcements, the mayor was joined by prominent experts and lawmakers, including Representative Adriano Espaillat and City Council member Mark Levine.

Espaillat and Levine had called on the city to require such a mandate for restaurants and bars.

"This is smart, practical, and I think it will save lives," Espaillat said.

Andy Slavitt, a former adviser to President Biden on the national COVID response, applauded the city's new strategy for offering the public a sense of clarity of which spaces were safe to inhabit with strangers.

"The questions that people have now about society will be cleared up with this announcement," he said, adding, "It is a great way to strike a blow against the real enemy."

Editor's note: This story was updated with reactions to the new policy.