San Jose on Tuesday became the first city in California to mandate a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for all city employees.
The new order also legislates that anyone attending a large indoor event at a city-owned facility show proof of a booster or negative COVID test to gain entry.
The city council unanimously approved the proposal which Mayor Sam Liccardo introduced late last month. It will take effect on Feb. 4, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
San Jose's current rules required city staff to be fully vaccinated with either one shot of Johnson & Johnson or two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Tuesday's update now tightens that policy to also require a booster shot.
The second part of the order, requiring visitors to show proof of a booster or a negative COVID test, applies to indoor events of 50 or more people, including for patrons at San Jose Sharks games and all events at the SAP Center. Other impacted facilities include the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, Center for the Performing Arts and San Jose Museum of Art.
While it adds a booster requirement, the policy does loosen previous rules which did not allow a negative COVID test as a substitute for vaccination. Under the updated order, attendees 12 or older who are unvaccinated but show proof of a negative test will be allowed inside city-owned facilities.
"Thanks, Council colleagues for approving my proposal to require boosters for City workers+the public to access big events in city-owned buildings," Liccardo tweeted on Tuesday. "San José leads the US w/this measure to avoid high hospitalizations and tragic outcomes."
The paper reported that workers who fail to comply with the booster mandate will likely face discipline similar to punishment under the current policy - a weeklong unpaid suspension.
"I do hope that people really heed the warnings," councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco told the outlet. "If we haven't learned anything in the past two years, I don't know what to say. But I'm a huge believer in the vaccine and the booster."
