Outgoing New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has issued an order requiring the more than 100,000 employees of childcare and early intervention programs to be vaccinated by December 20.
De Blasio said the new vaccine mandate is needed not only to protect the health of these workers but more importantly to protect the health of children.
“This is going to be important for the employees and their own health, obviously, but it’s also important for protecting the health of the kids who are in these childcare programs,” de Blasio said.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the discovery of the deadly COVID variant Omicron, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi issued a Commissioner’s Advisory to encourage people to wear masks indoors and in public settings like grocery stores or offices.
Sources said in the Big Apple, masks remain mandatory in public transit, healthcare settings, and schools.
“We do anticipate detecting Omicron in New York in the coming days, based on what we know about its global spread,” Chokshi said.
“A lot is still unknown about Omicron because it’s so early, but studies are underway and we will know more about the variant in the coming weeks,” Chokshi added.
Based on the latest health data the vaccination rate in New York City is 88% for adults and 81% for 12-to-17-year-olds.
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