New York City tries new approach: Covid-19 vaccine mandate for private employers

NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - With United States President Joe Biden's vaccination mandate for large companies in Supreme Court limbo, and the Omicron variant filling hospitals to bursting, New York City is pioneering a new approach to pandemic management.

On Monday (Dec 27), Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate for private businesses went into effect, a requirement that his administration said is the most sweeping in the nation and among the most ambitious in the world.

Austria is instituting a mandate for its entire adult population, and France is requiring certain employees to work from home. But some of the most expansive efforts in the US, such as a push to require vaccinations of Los Angeles schoolchildren, have run into roadblocks amid a lack of compliance.

In New York City, coronavirus vaccines are already required for public-sector employees, as well as patrons and staff at restaurants, indoor entertainment venues and gyms.

Now, all other private employers in the city must verify that their on-site workers have received at least one dose of a vaccine. If employees have opted for a two-dose vaccine, they must submit proof that they have received the second dose within 45 days.

"I am 110 per cent convinced this was the right thing to do, remains the right thing to do, particularly with the ferocity of Omicron," Mr de Blasio said on Monday, after giving a "key to the city" to music icon Patti Smith.

"And I don't know if there's going to be another variant behind it, but I do know our best defence is to get everyone vaccinated and mandates have worked."

This is Mr de Blasio's last week as mayor, and it remains unclear if his successor, Mr Eric Adams, will keep the mandate in place, or if he will modify it in response to concerns from business owners. He has consistently refused to say, and Monday proved no different.

"The mayor-elect will make announcements on his administration's Covid-19 policy this week," his spokesman Evan Thies said in a text message.

Vaccines and boosters appear to largely prevent the most severe symptoms in Omicron infections.

But the ability of the variant to cause breakthrough infections in vaccinated people, and the havoc those infections have wrought on the city and on businesses, has made the new requirement among the least of employers' concerns, according to Mr Randy Peers, who runs the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

"What small businesses are really focused on right now is Omicron and the impacts," Mr Peers said. "We've got the holiday season, which was a bust for many small businesses, because they didn't have the customer foot traffic they would have. We have small businesses who are losing employees to Omicron, so they're short-staffed. And these are mostly vaccinated employees."

Mr de Blasio promised that enforcement would be light during his final week as mayor. City officials will inspect businesses, and only business owners who flat out refuse to cooperate with the mandate are likely to face fines, Mr de Blasio said.

"Our inspectors will be out there energetically, but with the goal, you know, educate and correct, ideally, avoid penalties," Mr de Blasio said.

In New York City, well over 100,000 people have tested positive since the start of last week, more than 1 per cent of the city's population. Across the state, about 5,525 patients are hospitalised with Covid-19.

Transit officials on Monday said there would be some delays in subway service this week because of the rising number of Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers who have tested positive.

Passengers may find themselves waiting "a minute or two longer" for the next train, said Mr Janno Lieber, acting chair and chief executive of the MTA.

But Mr de Blasio said the rapid spread of Omicron "has not affected the operations of the city".

During his final months as mayor, Mr de Blasio has leaned heavily on vaccine mandates and proselytised their benefits to national TV audiences. Should he run for governor next year, as expected, mandates may be a part of his statewide pitch.

The mandates appear to have helped drive the vaccination rate up in New York City. As at Monday, 80.5 per cent of all New Yorkers had received at least one dose of a vaccine, and nearly 72 per cent were fully vaccinated.

Many employers across Staten Island, the city's most politically conservative borough, are frustrated by the vaccine mandate, said Ms Linda Baran, president and CEO of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.

"I got a lot of phone calls from businesses asking, 'What are we supposed to do? Should we comply? We're going to have a new mayor, what is the new mayor thinking?'" Ms Baran said. "I think the biggest frustration here is that a lot of businesses are just having a hard time hiring and keeping employees."

Mr Michael Dorf, founder of City Winery, a restaurant and music venue with locations in New York and other cities, said the arrival of Omicron has cost his business about US$1 million (S$1.36 million) this holiday season. The variant has bolstered the need for mandates, he said, if only because vaccinations lessen the severity of the disease.

He said his company - which employs roughly 1,000 workers, including about 400 in New York state - has even more stringent measures already in place.

"Every single human breathing person coming into the building has to be vaccinated and tested," Mr Dorf said. He said he planned to impose a booster requirement for all staff members and visitors starting Jan 10.

Similarly, Ms Rachael Moss, a ceramics instructor at Choplet Gallery and Ceramic Studio in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood, said the gallery had been requiring its 25 employees, as well as its patrons, to be vaccinated since this summer.

Ms Moss said she hoped the incoming mayor, Mr Adams, would keep the mandate in place.

With a sister who is immunocompromised, she supports any mandate that will help end the pandemic. "I don't mind getting as many vaccines as it takes," she said.