NEW YORK — City officials are working on the final details of New York’s vaccine mandate, called Key to NYC Pass — though it’s not actually a vaccine passport as the name might imply.
The city’s vaccine mandate plan is the first like it in the United States, Mayor Bill de Blasio said; it will require vaccinations for all workers and customers at indoor dining, indoor fitness and indoor entertainment venues.
“The only way to patronize these facilities will be if you were vaccinated at least one dose,” he said.
The mayor said for the next month, the new policy requiring vaccinations will be phased in, and people will be educated about how it will work.
“We want to give businesses big and small a change to get acclimated. We want to make adjustments on their input, but this will move forward starting the week of Aug. 16, with full enforcement the week of Sept. 13,” de Blasio said.
And for those front-line doctors taking care of COVID-19 patients, many support the initiative.
“I am totally in favor of vaccine mandates,” said Dr. Len Horovitz, of Lenox Hill Hospital.
Outside New York, in a growing number of places across the United States, people will be required to show proof of being vaccinated against the coronavirus to teach students, work at a hospital, see a concert or eat inside a restaurant.
Starting next week, New Orleans and San Francisco will require such proof to enter many businesses. Los Angeles is also looking into the idea.
The new measures are an attempt to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases that has pushed hospitals to the breaking point, including in the Dallas area, where top officials warned they are running out of beds in their pediatric intensive care units.
