San Francisco is "exploring" a mandate that would force patrons to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering indoor restaurants, bars and concerts.
The rule would be similar to the one New York City instituted on Tuesday, as it became the first city in the U.S. to implement such a policy.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said that the hope is that their new mandate incentivizes unvaccinated people to receive the shot.
"We’re exploring that," San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said Tuesday at a news conference about the city’s new "Vax to You" program. "Right now we’re seeing that a number of bars and restaurants and other entities are doing that, and we’re very supportive of that and encouraging people to take advantage of that policy."
San Francisco previously recommended indoor venues require vaccine proof, however it’s stopped short of mandating it citywide. Colfax said that the city is "supportive of businesses and other entities" that have implemented the policy.
Multiple other Bay Area counties such as Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin and San Mateo, and the city of Berkeley said Tuesday that they are not weighing a vaccine requirement. However, Colfax’s comments suggested San Francisco is leaving that door open.
"The good news is that San Francisco businesses were one of the first in the country, as far as I know, to adopt this voluntarily," Colfax explained. "I think it’s really trying to determine, in working with various entities, is there a need to implement a policy similar to New York or is this going to happen more on the basis on what’s being driven in the community? I think what we saw that in other situations in the pandemic as well. Communities are adopting the practices that they know slow the transmissions."
As the delta variant continues to wreak havoc on the country, the overwhelming majority of deaths due to COVID have occurred among unvaccinated people.
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