Striking harder than President Joe Biden for the vaccination obligation in the United States, the Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio has decided that as of December 27, all companies and private businesses in the city will impose on their employees to be vaccinated to come to work. The Democratic councilor, who will leave his post on December 31 to be replaced by the mayor elected on November 2, Eric Adams, therefore goes further than Joe Biden, whose vaccination obligation – which is due to come into force on January 4 but is suspended by a court decision – only applies to employees of companies with more than 100 people.
A “bold” measure to stop the progression of the Covid”
“Here in New York, we decided to launch a preemptive attack (against the coronavirus) to really do something bold to stop the progress of Covid and the dangers it poses to all of us,” hammered Bill de Blasio on the MSNBC channel by announcing to everyone’s surprise the vaccination obligation for some 184,000 businesses, companies and businesses. He said in a statement that all “private sector employers in New York would be affected by the vaccination requirement as of December 27”.
“I think it’s a good idea (…) for the common good,” responded Sarah Dejam, 30, who works in the legal sector. “A lot of people are still getting sick from this virus, even with the vaccine.” But not everyone welcomed this decision, taken by an already extremely unpopular mayor. “I am not surprised that our mayor uses such a brutal means, which ignores our traditions” of protecting individual freedoms, commented Jeff Bollerman. “Nothing he does surprises me anymore.”
Two doses of vaccine for New Yorkers over 12
In addition, “New Yorkers aged 12 and over will be required to show proof that they have received two doses of the vaccine”, with the exception of those who received the single-dose serum from Johnson & Johnson, according to the mayor. As for children aged 5 to 11, they will have to show from December 14 that they have received a dose of vaccine to participate in “high-risk extracurricular activities such as sports, music and dance”, added the town hall. “New York will not yield an inch of ground in the fight against Covid-19”, insisted the Democratic mayor, who was rather very active during the pandemic in 2020, like the former governor of the State. of New York Andrew Cuomo.
Bill de Blasio had already imposed the mandatory vaccine on November 1 for all municipal officials, a measure that was well applied despite some protests from firefighters, police and garbage collectors. The Omicron coronavirus variant is now confirmed in at least 15 US states – with a few cases in New York State. The largest city in the United States was particularly damaged by the epidemic from the spring of 2020 with at least 34,000 deaths and images of a city completely deserted by its more than 8.5 million inhabitants.
Measures that may be challenged in court
According to city hall data, “New York has administered over 12.5 million doses of vaccines (and) nearly 6.5 million New Yorkers – 89% of them adults – have received at least one dose , (as well as) 125,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11”. But these measures risk being challenged in court. Last Thursday, Joe Biden called on his fellow citizens to overcome their political divisions to fight against Covid-19, when winter arrived and the new Omicron variant.
The 79-year-old Democratic president is trying at the national level to impose vaccination in public and private companies, but he encounters strong opposition from many Republicans and stumbles on the legal proceedings launched against these restrictive measures. A handful of Republicans had even tried on Thursday to block a finance law making it possible to avoid the paralysis of the American federal services, under the pretext that it would contribute to financing the implementation of the vaccination obligations which they oppose. The budget was finally adopted in the evening.
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