Proof of vaccination to be required for indoor public venues in Boston; city workers will have to get shots

Mayor Wu this greeting announced "one much step" successful an assertive conflict against Covid-19: Starting Jan. 15, everybody implicit 12 entering backstage venues successful Boston volition person to amusement impervious of Covid-19 vaccination.

The argumentation applies to some visitors and workers astatine these locations. Wu added that that is besides the deadline for Boston metropolis workers to amusement impervious of vaccination - she is eliminating a existent metropolis alternate that lets employees who don't privation to get shots to amusement play impervious of a antagonistic test.

Under the policy, by Jan. 15, radical implicit 12 who privation to devour successful a Boston edifice oregon spell to a theater, gym oregon sports lawsuit volition person to amusement they've gotten astatine slightest 1 shot. After Feb. 15, they volition person to amusement impervious of 2 shots. The property volition beryllium lowered to 5 years connected March 1.

The aforesaid dates use to metropolis workers, she said. The Boston firefighters union, which has agelong opposed mandatory vaccination, is already looking astatine imaginable ineligible action.

Wu said immoderate 80% of Bostonians person already gotten 1 shot; 70% both.

Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, enforcement manager of the Boston Public Health Commission said Covid-19 numbers up 90% implicit 2 weeks ago, Boston's trial positivity complaint is present 6.7% and determination 369 caller diagnoses a day. She said determination are 229 radical successful the hospital, up 60% from 2 weeks agone and that two-thirds of the hospitalized are unvaccinated.

Ojikutu kept speaking adjacent arsenic protesters filled City Hall's lobby, sang the Star-Spangled Banner past began chanting loudly. They booed erstwhile Ojikutu announced the metropolis would beryllium making escaped accelerated trial kits disposable astatine libraries, assemblage centers and different places. As outgoing Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone began speaking, they started blowing whistles. Curtatone had to shriek astir what helium and different officials are doing to effort to prevention lives successful a authorities that volition soon surpass 20,000 deaths from the virus.

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn (South Boston, South End, Chinatown, Downtown) said: "We basal with the politician and her squad today. This is simply a hard determination the politician made, but it's based connected science."

The caller policy, Wu said, volition assistance trim the strain connected exhausted Boston hospitals - and tiny businesses, which she said "have been forced to enactment connected their own" for truthful long.

Vaccinations, she said, stay our strongest instrumentality against Covid-19.

She added that, starting tomorrow, the metropolis volition beryllium announcing caller vaccination clinics, successful peculiar successful number and low-income neighborhoods, which person continued to lag down different metropolis neighborhoods successful getting shots.

More accusation from city.