New York City’s Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that all private sector employees in the city must receive a Covid-19 vaccine by Dec. 27 in order to go to work or visit any private establishment.
DeBlasio also announced that all eligible children ages 5 to 11 must now be vaccinated in order to participate in any indoor activities or settings.
Although nearly 90 percent of adults in the Big Apple have at least one dose of the vaccine, de Blasio tweeted Monday that private sector vaccine mandates are still needed in order to help New Yorkers “save lives and move forward.”
“Vaccination mandates are the one thing that really breaks through. Let’s lean into it even more,” he told MSNBC on Monday.
De Blasio’s move come amid legal challenges towards Joe Biden’s vaccine requirements, which mandate that all businesses with 100 or more employees vaccinate their workers. Biden’s mandates were blocked in several courts last week over concerns that they were unconstitutional. Biden has asked businesses to ignore the courts’ orders.
A bipartisan effort has also been made in the U.S. House and Senate to overturn Biden’s vaccine mandates. Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced that he would vote with all 50 Republican Senators to overturn Biden’s vaccine mandates.
De Blasio’s vaccination mandates were made less than one month before his mayoral term expires. Democrat Mayor-elect Eric Adams will be sworn in as New York City’s new mayor at midnight on Jan. 1, 2022.