Mayor De Blasio ‘110% Convinced’ Vaccine Mandate on Private Sector the ‘Right Thing to Do’

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Monday bragged about his latest coercive coronavirus mandate — forcing vaccine mandates on private sector businesses — defending his decision and expressing confidence that he is “110 percent convinced this was the right thing to do.”

Monday marks the first day of de Blasio’s private sector vaccine mandate taking effect, requiring private sector employees to get the shot. During Monday’s press briefing, a reporter asked about the private sector mandate in the context of Mayor-elect Adams, who suggested he will be making changes to the mandates, as he wants to ensure that small businesses are able to survive. When asked if de Blasio sees any merit on changing his approach based on the size of the business, the Democrat mayor said no.

“I obviously care deeply about the small businesses. They’ve been through a lot. But I’m also convinced that the most important thing to do for small business is to end the COVID era — get us out of this,” he said.

“My job is to protect people, So I am 110 percent convinced this was the right thing to do, it remains the right thing to do particularly with the ferocity of omicron,” de Blasio continued.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be another variant behind omicron, but I do know our best defense is to get everyone vaccinated and mandates have worked. So I’m very comfortable with what we’re doing,” he continued, adding that he respects what the mayor-elect does when he takes office but adding that “this is the right thing to do now to protect all New Yorkers.”

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Under the rules, which took place Monday, workers who have a “sincerely held” religious belief or medical condition may apply for a “reasonable accommodation” to avoid the vaccine, although they needed to apply by Monday, December 27.

The Democrat mayor bragged about his mandate on Monday, calling it a “a historic day for New York City” due to “implementing the strongest vaccine mandate in the country.” 

“This is what we need to do everywhere,” he said of the private sector mandate during an appearance on MSNBC. 

“Every mayor, every governor, every CEO in America should do vaccine mandates now because we have got — 2022 has to be the year we leave COVID behind. If we’re going to fix public safety, we actually have to first get out of the COVID era,” he added.