Is NYC right to require vaccine proof indoors?
Fact Box
- Bill de Blasio (born May 1961 as Warren Wilhelm Jr.) is a Democrat serving as New York City’s current mayor since 2014.
- On Tuesday, August 3, 2021, New York City announced a new rule “Key to NYC Pass” that will require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, gyms, and entertainment venues starting September 13. The next few weeks will be open to feedback and training until August 16.
- The previous week, Mayor de Blasio required all municipal workers to either get vaccines by September or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing for “safety.”
- As of August 3, 2021, 5.6 million people have one vaccine dose in New York City while 5.2 million are fully vaccinated. As of 2020, the Big Apple borough reported a population of over 8.5 million.
- According to NBC New York, the delta variant has surged in the state accounting for 72 percent of positive samples, which is triple the amount three weeks ago.
- The Delta variant of COVID-19 first arose in India at the end of 2020, and has recently spread to countries across the globe. The current variant is reported to have a shorter incubation period of four days rather than six days with a higher number of viruses making it much more aggressive than the original virus.
Morgan (Yes)
CNN has reported how New York City now requires vaccination proof of its citizens to enter basic places such as gyms, restaurants, and entertainment venues. New York City Mayor de Blasio said it best: 'If you want to participate in our society fully, you've got to get vaccinated.' In New York City, those who are unvaccinated and unwilling to do their part will simply be forced to miss out on things. It would be wise if the rest of the country would follow suit.
Demanding proof of vaccination is backed by the goal of protecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. It's simple: if unvaccinated individuals are permitted indoors, they could feasibly continue the spread of COVID and its variants. Incentivizing them to vaccinate will also help deter the virus from mutating or being passed along to other unvaccinated people.
This requirement won't be in full effect until September 13th. There is time for any unvaccinated citizens who are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine to research and understand the value and safety of these vaccines. Anyone who wants to be indoors will need to get in line and get the vaccine, protecting all Americans and bringing us closer to normal. The vaccine is our gateway to going back to our old way of life, and requiring proof of vaccination is the best way to ensure all citizens are doing their part.
New York is in step with the country's goals overall, which is the progression toward stopping the spread of COVID and ultimately beating this virus. Vaccination requirements are cropping up in plenty of workplaces and industries, and other settings. These are good goals for us as a nation to have and should be embraced by every American who wants to see this virus go away and our country reopen.
Bill (No)
It's appalling that NYC requires vaccination proof of its citizens at any point. This is bad policy and is a breach of medical privacy. HIPAA rules set by the Department of Health and Human Services specify that individuals must give consent to disclose private medical information—in other words, we have the right to decline a request for this information. Americans should be outraged at the language NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio used in announcing the vaccine-proof policy: 'If you want to participate in society fully, you've got to get vaccinated.' Aside from the apartheid-like overtones, de Blasio's rhetoric fails to acknowledge the fact that the vaccines have not received FDA approval (they have only been given an emergency use authorization). How can he demand that citizens risk their health by submitting to an experimental medical treatment?
The past year and a half have been an experiment in government overreach and systematic restrictions on our way of life and individual freedoms. The NYC vaccine-proof policy is the latest offensive attempt to divide us as a society and to demonize those who choose to exercise their right to medical freedom and body autonomy. Americans should strongly resist this fascist, heavy-handed government intervention in our lives. If the vaccine and masks work as touted (against a virus that 99.8% of Americans have survived), restaurant patrons should have no reason to fear those who have decided for personal reasons not to participate in the experimental vaccine rollout. This policy seems to negate that.
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