New York City Expands Covid Vaccine Requirements to Children and Private Employees

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK- December 6th, 2021— New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced an expansion to his first in the nation vaccine mandate program called the Key to New York City.

The expansion will require children between the ages of 5 and 11 to have proof of at least on Covid-19 vaccination. Additionally, the mandate will now require all children over the age of 12 to be “fully” vaccinated against Covid-19.

In order to enter indoor dining establishments, entertainment and performance venues, and fitness centers, all individuals about the age of 5 will be asked to show applicable proof of vaccination.

As part of the expansion of vaccine mandates in NYC, de Blasio also announced that private-sector employees will need to be vaccinated by December 27th. This order is thought to impact some 184,000 businesses.

Business Owners in New York City Stand Against Vaccine Mandates

Fortunately, some businesses are taking a stand publicly against such mandates. One such business owner Louis Rossman has long stood against forcing business owners to enforce vaccine mandates.

Exemptions to the Vaccine Mandate

While the city does not lay out specific exemptions on their official Key to NYC information page. They do have a section entitled “Discrimination Complaints and Reasonable Accommodations” which states:

“You have a right to be free from discrimination or harassment. If you believe you have been discriminated against because of who you are, including your race, national origin or disability, contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights.”.

While they do not offer clear guidelines for what exemptions or accommodations are required, they do acknowledge that they exist to some degree.

Related News: The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide the fate of OSHA’s vaccine requirements.

CVR Rating: This article addresses Class 4 CVRs. According to our system of grading vaccine requirements.