蜜芽传媒

All New Yorkers will need to be vaccinated if they want to go to work, Bill de Blasio, the city's mayor has announced. Public sector employers already have to be inoculated, but the mandate will now be extended to all private sector employees. The policy will take effect on 27 December and he said New York would be the first US city to mandate vaccines for private sector workers.

A mandate for public sector workers which came into force earlier this autumn met vocal resistance, and led some employees to leave their jobs. However, rates of vaccination rose in response to the policy.

Harriet Alexander, a journalist in New York, says that this will affect around 184,000 businesses and that the mayor also stated that children from the age of five will be made to confirm their vaccine status in order to get into public places such as restaurants, cinemas and theatres. She added that the city's business community are objecting to this and said they will bring challenges to court. Implementation of the policy would depend on the in-coming mayor Eric Adams.

Photo: Bill de Blasio greets spectators during 95th Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, November 2020 Credit: Getty Images

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