San Jose's mayor is calling for all city-owned buildings to require proof of a COVID-19 booster dose from guests, and for all city employees, starting in January.
Sam Liccardo on Tuesday proposed the new requirement in the wake of the highly contagious omicron variant becoming the dominant COVID-19 strain on Monday.
Under the new rules, a booster dose would be a condition of employment for city workers. Guests at SAP Center and other city-owned facilities would have to show proof of a booster, unless they received their second dose within the last six months or a minor ineligible for a booster shot.
"To avoid crippling levels of hospitalizations and tragic outcomes, we have the great benefit of widespread access to booster shots, but we lack the benefit of time," Liccardo said in a press release. "We must take decisive action to protect our workforce and our community, and a booster mandate will help."
The mayor's office said in a release San Jose could become the first California city to institute such a requirement.
Five days before Liccardo's proposal, Santa Clara County public health officials said they had confirmed 10 cases of the omicron variant within the county. They called on all eligible county residents to receive their booster shot, and the county vaccine officer, Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, said two doses "are not enough anymore" in light of the variant.
More than 40% of the county’s fully vaccinated residents have received a booster dose, compared to 32.8% of fully vaccinated Californians and 30.4% of fully vaccinated Americans.
Unlike some other Bay Area jurisdictions, neither Santa Clara County nor the City of San Jose require proof of vaccination to enter privately owned indoor businesses like bars, restaurants and gyms. A Liccardo spokesperson didn’t respond to KCBS Radio’s request for comment on the possibility the city could institute a similar requirement.
Santa Clara County was not granted an exemption to the statewide public indoor mask mandate earlier this month, thus requiring everyone – regardless of vaccination status – to wear a mask in those spaces.
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