"I welcome the new vaccine mandates for private sector businesses in New York City, and wish it had gone into effect earlier than four days before the current Mayor leaves office. Previous mandates have played a major role in increasing the city’s vaccination rates, and amid the uncertainty of the Omicron variant and the certainty of holiday travel and gatherings, this new measure can help save lives.
"I am also glad to see the administration expand the requirement under existing mandates to full vaccination rather than a single dose– as I and others have called for– because incomplete protection is not nearly enough amid rising cases and the new variant. It is now incumbent upon the administration, in the next days and weeks, to advise and aid our city’s businesses on issues of implementation and enforcement that have not been adequately explained.
"The citywide vaccine mandates for indoor dining and entertainment venues have been widely successful in spurring vaccination, encouraging New Yorkers to patronize businesses, and simultaneously limiting the kind of spread we have seen in other areas across New York State. Amid the holiday season, as people travel across the state and the majority of gatherings move inside, it is critical that the Governor implement these vaccination screenings statewide, in addition to widespread masking requirements. We have the tools and the capacity to prevent another deadly surge of the virus, now we must have the will to use those tools, the urgency to act now, and the spirit of solidarity to protect our fellow New Yorkers."
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