Office Of The Mayor Of New York City: Recovery For All Of Us: Mayor De Blasio Announces City Workforce Health Care Mandate

Press release from Office of the Mayor of New York City:

July 26, 2021

Beginning September 13th, City will require proof of vaccination or weekly COVID-19 tests for all city workers

Beginning September 13th, City will require proof of vaccination or weekly COVID-19 tests for all city workers

City also makes official call to private sector to enact vaccine and test mandates at all offices, workplaces, and facilities

City also makes official call to private sector to enact vaccine and test mandates at all offices, workplaces, and facilities

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner (DOHMH) Dr. Dave A. Chokshi and NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz today announced a new health care mandate requiring all city workers to provide one-time proof of vaccination or weekly COVID-19 tests beginning September 13th.

In advance of this benchmark, the City is mandating 45,000 City workers and contractors in residential and congregate care settings by August 16th. Both of these recent mandates are in addition to the Health Worker COVID-Safe Requirement the Mayor announced last week, requiring NYC Health + Hospitals employees and those working in Department of Health and Mental Hygiene clinical settings to provide either a one-time verification of immunization, or weekly proof of a negative COVID-19 test by August 2nd.

"This is what it takes to continue our recovery for all of us while fighting back the delta variant," said Mayor de Blasio. "It’s going to take all of us to finally end the fight against COVID-19."

“These new requirements reflect our commitment to each other and the people we serve,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. “In the tug of war between vaccines and the variants, we should continue to bet on the vaccines. But now is the time for our whole City to pull together to defeat Delta.”

“We’ve come a long way from once being the ‘epicenter of the epicenter’ of COVID-19, but this pandemic is not over yet,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “We have a moral responsibility to take every precaution possible to ensure we keep ourselves, our colleagues and loved ones safe. Our City’s new testing requirement for city workers provides more piece of mind until more people get their safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.”

The Mayor also made an official call for the private sector to enact vaccine and test mandates at their offices, workplaces, stores, and restaurants. Approximately 4.9 million New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the vaccine. This includes over 100,000 doses from mobile vaccination sites, 280,000 doors knocked by canvassers, and 20,000 doses given in-home to anyone who needs it. There have also been more than $80,000 in Referral Bonuses given to community organizations. 

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This press release was produced by Office of the Mayor of New York City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.