New York mandates vaccines for all museums

Broad agreement among 33 organisations that vaccine requirement is necessary as many institutions still operate on reduced capacity

New York City plans to issue a mandate that all those who wish to visit its museums and other cultural institutions must be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The policy will require vaccinations for visitors and staff at the city’s museums, concert halls, aquariums, and zoos, a city official told The New York Times.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement on Monday, saying: “Defeating the Delta variant is the best way to support cultural institutions because it brings us all back.”

“We believe, if we take these aggressive measures, this is going to encourage a lot of people — audience members and staff alike — to get vaccinated,” he added.

The city’s “Key to NYC” programme includes vaccine requirements to visit “bars, fitness gyms, movie and stage theatres, museums, and other indoor venues”.

While the policy will take effect on Tuesday, enforcement of the new regulations will not start until 13 September to give both the city government and cultural institutions time to inform the public and adjust to comply with the regulations.

Children under the age of 12, who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, will be urged to wear a mask and must visit the institutions along with a vaccinated person.

“We’re saying get at least the first vaccination — of course, the goal is to get everyone fully vaccinated — but get at least the first vaccination and you’ll be able to work or enjoy indoor dining, indoor fitness, indoor entertainment, concerts, movie theatres,” Mr de Blasio added on Monday.

A City Hall official told The New York Times that they plan to spend $10m on a media campaign to inform New Yorkers and visitors of the new requirements.

Museums and arts groups operating in buildings or on land owned by the city, 33 in total are members of what’s called the Cultural Institutions Group, have been in talks with the city government’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

There was broad agreement among those organisations, as well as others not operating on city-owned property, that a vaccination requirement should be instituted.

“Everyone wants their audiences and their employees to be safe,” the executive director of the advocacy group New Yorkers for Culture & Art, Lucy Sexton, told The New York Times.

Proof of vaccination required to enter New York cultural institutions include a photo or a hard copy of an official vaccination card. It can also involve the use of a New York City vaccination app, New York state’s Excelsior Pass, or an official vaccine record for a vaccine that has been approved.

The announcement of the requirement has been delayed by multiple issues, including whether staff would also be required to be vaccinated, prompting legal issues concerning employment regulations, even as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said that companies can mandate that employees be vaccinated in order to go back to work.

Institutions affected by the mandate also worried about added expenses stemming from having to enforce the requirement. They are already running on a reduced capacity, as well as reduced opening hours.

“We were the first to be shut and we were the last to reopen,” Ms Sexton told the paper. “The whole field has not been given the measure of relief others have.”

Last month, New York City became the first city in the US to issue a mandate for vaccinations in order to attend indoor concerts, as well as other indoor activities such as going to restaurants and gyms.

“The City’s recovery depends on culture coming back strong,” City Council cultural affairs committee chairman Jimmy Van Bremmer told The New York Times. “Our audiences must feel safe and vaccine mandates are necessary for that to happen. With variants surging, people will want to know that the person sitting next to them in the theatre or standing next to them at the Met are vaccinated also. This is the smart thing to do for everyone — patrons, artists and staff.”

There are concerns that the new requirements could affect New York’s Black population more than other groups, as recent figures show that only 28 per cent of Black city residents between the ages of 18 and 44 are fully vaccinated.

While Mr de Blasio said he would continue his efforts to get the city’s cultural institutions to diversify both its audiences and its staff, he said a vaccine requirement was necessary because of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

“This moment with the Delta variant is a very, very challenging moment but it is also a temporary reality,” the mayor said.

He added that New York City has “increased cultural funding in a variety of ways,” but that “we do not anticipate providing additional resources”.

“We think this is something manageable people can do,” he said.