New York City’s vaccine card mandate hits one-week mark with efficacy questions, lawsuit
(The Center Square) – It has been one week since New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio set in motion his vaccine card order for indoor entertainment, recreation venues, restaurants and fitness centers. The rollout has been met with mixed reaction.
De Blasio’s initiative, dubbed the Key to NYC, began Aug. 17 with a soft launch, and the mayor has indicated enforcement at impacted establishments will begin Sept. 13.
“The Key to NYC sends a powerful message that vaccination will unlock our city’s potential, and we’ll stop at nothing to save lives and keep New Yorkers safe,” de Blasio said in a statement.
But even as a growing number of private businesses and other governing agencies across the U.S. test the waters with vaccine mandates of their own, questions about the efficacy of such requirements continue.
Tashof Bernton, an internal and preventive medicine physician, has been advising businesses on COVID-19 vaccine requirement protocols. In recent weeks, Bernton has been receiving a growing number of calls from New York City-based establishments impacted by the order.
“Businesses have tremendous challenges to do this effectively,” Bernton said. “With employees and customers all over the country, there’s no way to get 100 percent verification. Potential HIPPA issues are also a concern for companies trying to verify whether their employees and customers have been vaccinated.”
Early this month, on the heels of de Blasio’s initial announcement of the vaccine card mandate, the National Restaurant Association weighed in on the plan with a message conveying support, but concern.
Larry Lynch, senior vice president of science and industry with the association, said the organization is supportive of widespread vaccinations “because higher rates are our best bet for containing the spread of COVID-19.”
But, he added, “Without training, our staff members are expected to check the vaccine status of every customer wanting to eat inside the establishment. Last year, when mask mandates across the country were put in place, restaurant workers suffered terrifying backlash when enforcing those rules.”
One impacted group has taken direct aim at de Blasio’s directive, filing a lawsuit against him in New York State Supreme Court.
The Independent Restaurant Owners Association Rescue is comprised of about 50 businesses, primarily in Brooklyn and Staten Island. While restaurants are the bulk of the organization’s membership, other businesses include entertainment venues and fitness facilities.
In the lawsuit, IROAR argues de Blasio’s order lacks merit because it is not all encompassing.
“This vaccine mandate is arbitrary and capricious, due to the fact that it targets certain establishments, but not others, with no rationale whatsoever,” the lawsuit states. “What makes these particular establishments so dangerous? Nothing.”
Concerns of how vaccine mandates will impact an already strained labor shortage also have been raised by a number of organizations, such as the nearby New Jersey Business and Industry Association.
“The mandate will also exacerbate the hiring and workforce crisis businesses are experiencing today – and the requirement that businesses check proof of customer vaccinations puts them in the position of having to police human behavior and endure customer pushback,” Michele Siekerka, NJBIA President and CEO, said in a statement.
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