Adams considering booster mandate for New York City employees

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said on Sunday that he is mulling a COVID-19 booster mandate for city employees. 

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Adams, who was sworn in as mayor on Saturday, said the city would “examine the numbers” and decide if the mandate was needed. 

“If we feel we have to get to the place of making that mandatory, we’re willing to do that, but we’re encouraging them to do that now,” the mayor also said, noting that he is boosted. 

As the city of New York grapples with skyrocketing COVID-19 case numbers, the new mayor remains insistent that it must stay open.

“If we close down our city, it is as dangerous as COVID,” Adams added. “That’s what our focus must be. So that proper balance of safety [and] keeping our economy operated is going to allow us to get through.”

Shortly after Adams took office, he used his inaugural address to assure New Yorkers that the city would not be controlled by the ongoing pandemic. 

“This will be our New Year’s resolution: We will not be controlled by crises,” he said. 

New York City has seen a daily case average of 23,943 in the last seven days, according to data from the city’s health department. The state also reported 62,536 positive tests on Saturday as the highly contagious omicron variant continues to sweep the country.