All city workers in New York City will be required to be vaccinated or tested once per week for COVID-19, by September 13th.
"This is about our recovery. This is about what we need to do to bring back New York City. This is about keeping people safe," NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "September is when school starts, full strength. September is when people come back from the summer. September is when it will all happen."
De Blasio also said that unvaccinated city employees must now wear a mask.
The announcement mirrors others in California and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and as nearly 60 health organizations call for mandatory vaccines for health care workers.
And just days ago, the NFL informed that teams would record a "loss" if they have to forfeit a game because of infections in unvaccinated players.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said: "We're going in the wrong direction."
Around the nation, less than 58 percent of people 12 and up are fully vaccinated. And if vaccination rates don't improve it could mean 4,000 deaths a day – according to the COVID-19 scenario modeling hub.
Dr. Paul Holtom, who is an epidemiologist at the LAC + USC Medical Center, said: "We can't say anymore, well it's the old people who are going to die. It's young people now who are coming in very sick."
Even some vaccine skeptics are now sick – or dying. And they’re changing their tune. Like Phil Valentine, a Tennessee-based talk radio host who’s changed his mind. He has been in the hospital for nearly two weeks, battling COVID.
While some nations beg for vaccines, others – like the U.S. and France – are now trying new ways to convince people to get them.
Starting next month, proof of a COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory to enter bars and restaurants in France – something under consideration in some cities here in the U.S.
