NYC Rescinds COVID Mandate for Private Employers

Top New York City health leaders voted Tuesday to rescind the strictest-in-nation COVID vaccine mandate implemented by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in the waning days of his administration, the last signoff needed to end the program next week. Vaccine mandates for high-risk extracurricular activities in schools will end, too.

Both votes were unanimous. The rules will expire on Tuesday, Nov. 1, in accordance with Mayor Eric Adams' late September announcement. At that point, private employers will have the option to keep the mandate if they want, but it won't be required any longer by city health ordinance.

Staying in effect, though, will be the vaccine mandate for tens of thousands of municipal workers, many of whom have expressed frustration they must comply with protocol no longer considered necessary outside the public domain.