NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Wednesday marks one month since New York City started enforcing its indoor vaccine mandate that requires customers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to participate in various activities, including dining, fitness and entertainment.
In the first month of enforcement, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that the city has conducted 31,000 inspections and issued warnings to approximately 6,000 businesses.
Only 15 establishments throughout the five boroughs have faced fines for failing to enforce the city's indoor vaccination requirements.
"I think the violations really connect with a situation where there's not a willingness to follow the instructions, follow the guidance," de Blasio said. "The vast majority of businesses are keeping everyone safe, their employees, their customers."
The mayor credits the success of the "Key to NYC" program to a robust outreach effort that was conducted before the mandate took effect.
"All of the preparation, all of the communication, all of the education, there's only been 15 violations necessary in that whole time," de Blasio said. "And because that work was done to get things ready right to begin with, we've seen the launch of Key to NYC go very, very smoothly."
The mayor noted that over the past month, the city has seen the vaccination rate increase by 9%, with a 13% rise among those ages 18 to 34.
"That’s huge in terms of saving lives, in terms of protecting people, in terms of bring New York City back," the mayor said.
As he weighs what's next for vaccine rules, de Blasio said he's still very much against forcing students to be vaccinated.
"Certainly not something I would consider at this point," de Blasio said. "Job one is to get the kids into school, obviously, safely and we're doing that right now."
His remarks come as a student mandate is now being endorsed by New York chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics once those vaccines are fully approved for younger children.
"We can't, in my opinion, hold against our kids the decisions of adults because the kids can't get vaccinated without the adult consent," the mayor added. "I want those kids in school no matter what, and the schools are extraordinarily safe because we have that mandate for the adults and so many other health and safety measures."
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