Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio refused to answer a question from CNN's Jake Tapper about whether New York City businesses would fire unvaccinated staff during the winter holiday season.
The mayor was being interviewed with the Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, and the two lawmakers debated over whether vaccine mandates were necessary to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
De Blasio has mandated that all unvaccinated private sector workers in New York City get vaccinated by December 27. Such a strict policy regarding vaccine mandates has not yet been seen elsewhere in the United States.
Tapper asked: "Should all businesses in New York City fire workers in the middle of the holidays if they don't choose to get vaccinated?
De Blasio responded: "We chose the 27th, mindful of course of Christmas and the holiday season, Jake, and the bottom line is, what we found with all the mandates, we did this with the private sector already with restaurants, indoor entertainment, fitness. And what we found is in fact, employees overwhelmingly agreed and followed through.
"They may not have thought they would like it originally, but they ultimately chose to get that shot, and in fact realize that everyone was safe in those settings. The customers have loved to have heard this consistently from restaurant owners, they're full now. People go in confident they'll be safe, so it's been very good for business."
He said that the threat of potential lockdowns and restrictions was "bad for business."
"I've got business owners terrified that we're going to go back where we were. Look at Germany right now. Look at England right now. They are going backwards fast."
New York City has administered more than 12.5 million vaccination doses so far, with 89 percent of adults having had at least one dose. More than 125,000 children aged 5-11 have also had at least one dose.
De Blasio, a Democrat whose term ends on January 1, said that high vaccination rates allowed New York's schools to be "safe" and its restaurants to thrive.
Hutchison disagreed, and said that education was a more effective way to increase vaccinations, and that it doesn't impose strict restrictions on the private sector.
However, both men agreed that COVID-19 vaccines were safe and effective. Tapper pointed out that mandates likely work because only half of Arkansas' population is fully-vaccinated.
Newsweek has contacted De Blasio's office for comment on evading Tapper's question on unvaccinated workers.
On December 7, de Blasio's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for New York City employees, including the NYPD, was blocked by a Manhattan court.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Dutton is a Newsweek Reporter based in Cape Town, South Africa. His focus is reporting on global politics and ... Read more
