NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new vaccination mandate for another batch of New York City public school students on Friday ahead of the start of the academic year.
Students 12 and over who participate in performing arts extracurricular activities, which the mayor said are considered "high-risk," must get the COVID shot.
"For young people who are involved in extracurricular activities such as chorus, musical theater, dance, band and marching band, cheerleading, we're going to have a vaccination mandate for them," de Blasio said on WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show." "We're talking about performing arts, where folks are close together, close contact, lots of exhaling, obviously... with the woodwinds, lots of heavy exertion with some of these dance, cheerleading, et cetera."
With school starting Monday, the mayor said students will need to get their first dose in order to participate in extracurricular activities, followed by the second shot at the appropriate time.
"I want young people to enjoy these activities, but I want to do it safely," de Blasio said. "So any young person who wants to participate in those activities will have to be vaccinated to be able to do so."
The mayor stresses this only applies to extracurricular activities, and not schools that are focused on the performing arts.
"This is about extracurriculars, not required subjects. This is about extracurriculars only," he said.
A similar mandate was previously announced for students that participate in high-risk sports.
Asked whether New York City would go as far as Los Angeles which is requiring all students 12 and up to get the shot, the mayor said, "It's not on the table now."
More than 66% of children in New York City 12 and over have gotten at least one shot.