LA County Plans Vaccine Mandate for Public Places
Verification would also be required for customers and employees at indoor portions of bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs, and lounges.
By Greg Cornfield September 16, 2021 11:20 am
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To raise the inoculation rate for COVID-19, Los Angeles County is enacting a vaccine mandate for large public events and places like bars, nightclubs and lounges.
L.A. is following the lead of President Joe Biden, who said all companies with more than 100 workers must require vaccination or weekly testing, as well as New York City, which now requires proof of vaccination for people indoors at restaurants, gyms and concert venues.
Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer said the department believes vaccination mandates are an important strategy for quickly raising vaccination coverage. She said the county Health Department is ready to move forward later this week with an order requiring vaccination verification or a negative COVID test within 72 hours prior to attending an outdoor event.
Verification would be required for customers and employees at indoor portions of bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges. Patrons must have at least one dose of a vaccine by Oct. 7 and both doses by Nov. 4.
Attendees at large indoor events are already required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result prior to entry.
“Vaccination mandates are an increasingly important tool to prevent future COVID surges that cause widespread suffering,” Ferrer said during the county Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday.
The department also recommends vaccine verification at indoor portions of restaurants.
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said the delta variant “really threw a wrench in our process and our plans” for the economy to remain open and unhindered by coronavirus this year.
“The levels of immunity were not high enough to prevent another surge,” she said, adding that the county’s vaccination rate is about 75 percent. “President Biden just said last week, we have to protect vaccinated people from unvaccinated people, because that’s where the increase has been seen.”
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
