The Los Angeles City Council is following in the footsteps of New York City in implementing a vaccine policy that restricts the unvaccinated, according to media reports.
Just last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New Yorkers will be required to show proof of vaccination with a 'Key to NYC Pass' for indoor restaurant dining, to exercise inside a gym, and attend indoor performances, such as Broadway shows.
But the LA City Council is expected to take the restrictions one step further to include movie theaters and stores.
“The big differences here are a broad category of indoor spaces that have yet to be defined and retail establishments,” said Harry Nelson, founder, and managing partner of Nelson Hardiman, a Los Angeles-based healthcare law firm.
As previously reported, City Council president Nury Martinez introduced the proposal along with Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell on Aug. 4.
“If this passes, it will be the beginning of it going through in all the major cities in California and on the coast except airports because they are federal,” Nelson told the Southern California Record. “We haven't seen the Biden administration wanting to make such a broad statement. That would surprise me. I think airports will be the last place that we'll see these kinds of requirements.”
The crackdown comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are rising and the Delta variant is spreading.
As of Aug. 8, California had 3,993,747 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 64,312 deaths, according to the state's COVID dashboard. Some 44,479,024 have been vaccinated.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported if the motion was approved by the council, city attorneys would draft an ordinance under the direction that eligible patrons must show proof they have been immunized with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
But Nelson doesn’t foresee the city council creating vaccination apartheid.
“I have trouble seeing how the city council could ghettoize the unvaccinated,” Nelson said. “I don't see that as realistic. I can't believe that the City Council would insist on blocking the unvaccinated from every place. I just think that there will be a small number of establishments that are deemed essential, which won’t require proof of vaccination.”
If grocery stores are included in the ordinance, people who are incapable of complying could still have access, according to Nelson.
“In theory, there could be some kind of arrangement made for people to have access to basic essentials by way of Instacart and other delivery services,” he said. “It’s not an ordinance yet so it will be interesting to see what carve out there will be for grocery stores and basic supplies like toilet paper.”
The LA Daily News further reported that a course for ensuring compliance would be developed by the city attorney under the auspices of the city council.