As masking restrictions loosen across California and in the Bay Area, some cities are taking it a step further, and dropping certain vaccine requirements.
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In San Jose, people will no longer have to show proof of a booster shot at city venues, like the SAP Center, and city officials are even considering easing a vaccine mandate for city employees as well.
San Jose is in Santa Clara County, which has been one of the most conservative counties in the Bay Area, waiting to drop indoor masking requirements on Wednesday as other counties have already done so.
The COVID-19 booster mandate for the city's public facilities was enacted less than a month ago, and on Tuesday the City Council voted to repeal it.
"It has served its purpose, and it is time for us to, I believe, move on," said Mayor Sam Liccardo on Tuesday.
The move is not a reflection of the effectiveness of booster shots, according to Liccardo. Instead, it serves as a way to mark the declining number of COVID-19 cases. Going forward, the standard vaccine mandate should be sufficient to gain entry to city venues.
In the meantime, the city council is also considering changing the current booster vaccine mandate for city employees.
The city has been struggling so far to get hundreds of its employees to comply with the mandate, according to reporting by The Mercury News. As of Tuesday, about 750 employees, including around 300 from the police department, had not yet complied, the paper reported.
"Unfortunately we're going to see a significant number of city employees that end up getting put on unpaid leave and disciplined, potentially even terminated," said City Councilmember Raul Peralez in an interview with KCBS Radio.
"We may lose many more that resign as well because of the continued mandate," he said.
The city council could announce a modification of the booster mandate later this week.
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