New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Wednesday begged private businesses to implement vaccine mandates, deeming it the “right thing to do.”
During the press conference, de Blasio announced the latest vaccine mandate, which extends to the remainder of city employees, including NYPD and FDNY.
“My job as your mayor is to keep this city safe, keep this city healthy. Vaccination is the way. We’ve proven time and time again. It works. We have to keep going farther because COVID is not gone yet. We’re not back to normal. Not everyone is safe,” he asserted, adding that he must “make this whole city safe.”
A person holds up a protest sign as people gather at City Hall to protest vaccine mandates on August 09, 2021, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
While he expressed appreciation for city workers, he touted the vaccine mandate already imposed upon school employees and healthcare workers, claiming “it worked.”
“We have set the bar high with a series of mandates… Guess what? It did work,” he said, bragging about the city’s vaccine passport program, which forces private businesses to discriminate against the unvaccinated.
“We built it and people came. People got vaccinated. People did the right thing,” he said, adding they “have to go farther.”
“Obviously we’ve given people a lot of time, first in the voluntary phase, then in the vaccinate or test phase. It’s time to keep moving,” he added, announcing the October 29 deadline for city workers to show proof of at least one shot.
NYPD officers respond to the scene of a shooting that left multiple people injured in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough on April 06, 2021, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Before introducing Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi, de Blasio turned his attention to all private businesses, urging them to implement vaccine mandates as well.
“I would urge everyone out there in the private sector, come on. Government’s been leading the way. The Biden Administration, to their great credit, leading the way. The City of New York, leading the way. We’re showing it works,” he said.
“Vaccine mandates work. Folks in the private sector: Every time you put a vaccine mandate into effect, it helps all of us. We’ve given a great example that it can work, that it’s the right thing to do. Please join us,” the Democrat begged. “It will help end the COVID era.”
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The mayor has already forced many private businesses in the city to discriminate against the unvaccinated via the Key to NYC Pass, which requires certain businesses, including gyms and indoor restaurants, to deny service to individuals who fail to show proof of vaccination. Boasting of the vaccine passport program in August, de Blasio said it is time for people to view coronavirus vaccines as “literally necessary to living a good and full and healthy life.”
Businesses that fail to comply can face hefty fines.
The Democrat’s Wednesday announcement, forcing all city workers to get vaccinated, comes two weeks after he told reporters he prefers to “respect people’s intelligence” before forcing them to get vaccinated. That no longer appears to be the case.