BY BEN BRACHFELD
New York City will begin
requiring proof of vaccination
to access a wide-ranging
set of indoor activities, such
as restaurant dining, drinking
at a bar, exercising at a
gym, or seeing a live performance,
Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced Tuesday, Aug. 2.
“If you want to participate
in our society fully, you’ve got
to get vaccinated,” the mayor
said at his daily press briefing.
“It’s time.”
New York is the fi rst major
city in the country to adopt
such a move, which the mayor
is calling the “Key to NYC
Pass.” It comes as the Delta
variant upends the progress
the city has made in fi ghting
the coronavirus.
Countries such as France
and Italy have already adopted
For the Treatment of Varicose Vein,
Leg Swelling and Leg Wounds
COURIER L 18 IFE, AUGUST 6-12, 2021
the measure; on the
fi rst day after French President
Emmanuel Macron
announced the mandate,
millions of people booked appointments.
The new policy will launch
on Aug. 16, but won’t be enforced
until Sept. 13 so businesses
can get acclimated
and the city can make adjustments
based on feedback.
Those wishing to visit
indoor establishments like
restaurants, bars, gyms, or
performance venues will be
required to show either their
CDC vaccination card, the
new NYC COVID Safe app, or
the Excelsior Pass app.
“It is very simple, I carry
my wallet with me and I pull
out my card,” said Congressman
Adriano Espaillat at the
mayor’s briefi ng. “It’s as simple
as that.”
The mayor has been moving
in the direction of mandates
in recent weeks, starting
last week with a mandate
for health care workers and
then for all city workers. The
city is still using some incentives
though, such as an offer
of $100 for anyone who gets
their fi rst dose at a city-run
vaccination site.
Nonetheless, the mayor
has faced criticism for inaction
on implementing a mask
mandate even as Delta, which
is far more contagious than
the original coronavirus,
rages throughout the city.
Manhattan Councilmember
Mark Levine, who has
been calling for a new mask
People enjoy indoor dining as the spread of COVID-19 continues in New
York City. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
mandate for weeks, said that
new policy is what’s needed
to rapidly take action to prevent
a worse outcome over
time.
“We have to act to protect
this city,” Levine said.
“And we’ve learned over the
past year and a half that our
choice is to act now, or to face
more diffi cult options down
the road.”
Health
City to mandate proof
of vaccination for indoor
dining, fi tness, and more
THE VASCULAR INSTITIUTE
OF NEW YORK
Dr. Natalie Marks:
The First Vascular Medicine
Specialist in Brooklyn
DIRECTOR OF THE VEIN CENTER
718.438.3800
960- 50 St., Brooklyn, NY 11219
www.VascularNYC.com
NATALIE MARKS, MD
Established 1992
Clinical Associate Professor
of Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine
/www.VascularNYC.com
/www.VascularNYC.com
