As COVID cases plummet, state and city governments are easing vaccine verification requirements.
Midway through last year, several large cities across the country required vaccine verification to dine indoors or attend large events. The cities included Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and New Orleans.
But that’s not the case anymore.
At a Glance
- New York Mayor Eric Adams celebrated New York no longer requiring vaccine verification by going to a jazz club.
- Los Angeles City Council asked attorney’s office to draw up new order to eliminate requirement. But it still will be in place for major indoor events.
- New Orleans still has a vax requirement or a negative test to go inside businesses.
Earlier this week, New York Mayor Eric Adams was out celebrating his city’s decision to lift the proof of vaccine requirements.
“Good to be back out,” Adams told a mostly maskless crowd at a Greenwich Village jazz club. “I consider myself the nightlife mayor, so I’m going to assess the product every night.”
Adams announced his decision on March 4 during a press conference in Times Square. He wanted to make the news from one of NYC’s biggest tourist areas. That’s because the new mayor wanted everyone to know New York was open.
There’s More: LA and San Francisco Also Lifting Vaccine Verification Rules
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council started the process. The council ordered the city attorney’s office to write an ordinance that would make vaccine requirements voluntary for indoor businesses. That included restaurants and gyms. The city also isn’t requiring vaccine proof for outdoor events. Those who attend big indoor events still will need to show proof of a vaccine. The big events are defined as more than 1,000 people.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, as of Friday, the city no longer will require indoor businesses to seek proof of vaccination. But businesses will be allowed to ask. However, you’ll still need to show proof of a vaccine to attend a big indoor gathering.
New Orleans acknowledged that its COVID cases are going down. But as of early March, the city still required proof of vaccination for indoor activities. Or, a person would need to show proof of a negative COVID test within the last 72 hours.
As of Thursday, about 60 percent of the people in the United States are fully vaccinated. At least 71 percent have received at least one dose of the shot.
There were 47,236 new COVID cases reported Wednesday. That’s down from a high of more than 900,000 on Jan. 7, the height of the Omicron wave.
It’s not even clear if states need more pandemic funding. On Wednesday, Congress passed a significant spending bill, but only after cutting out a chunk of money for COVID. The House plans to vote on virus-specific relief for states next week.
