Berkeley ‘Exploring’ Vaccine Mandate: Mayor

BERKELEY, CA — A vaccine mandate similar to one San Francisco announced on Thursday could soon be coming to Berkeley.

Shortly after San Francisco become the nation’s first city to announce it will require proof of full vaccination at indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and entertainment venues, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín announced that his East Bay city is “exploring” a similar measure.

“San Francisco's decision to require proof of vaccination for many indoor activities is a move that I welcome, which is based on scientific evidence as an effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Arreguín tweeted Thursday afternoon.

“#Berkeley is currently exploring this. Stay tuned for details.”

San Francisco’s new health order goes into effect Aug. 30.

The order aims to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while keeping the city's businesses open despite a recent surge in cases, Mayor London Breed said.

"We know that for our city to bounce back from the pandemic and thrive, we need to use the best method we have to fight COVID-19 and that's vaccines," she said.

In addition to proof of vaccine for certain indoor businesses, the order also calls for vaccination requirements for certain jobs in health care like workers at nursing homes, dental offices, in-home health care providers and pharmacists -- which are not included in a recent statewide vaccination requirement for health care workers.

"In this phase of the pandemic, we must optimize the powerful tool of vaccines to protect us as we fully reopen to business," San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said.

"These past few weeks have demonstrated how important it is that everyone eligible is vaccinated as we resume normal activities."

— Bay City News contributed to this report