De Blasio on Mandating Vaccines for Kids to Go to a Restaurant But Not for Schools: I Don’t Want Them ‘to Miss Out on Education

EXCERPT:

DE BLASIO: “Yes, I can tell you that for sure. Look, we love it when people go to our restaurants or our movie theaters, but those are obviously for fun, for enjoyment. A school is absolutely basic to a child and their development, their future. I don’t want to hold it against a child if their parent doesn’t take the time to get them vaccinated or for some reason hesitates. I don’t want that child to miss out on education. We’ll keep evaluating as we go along, but right now, after a lot of our kids — again, I’m a parent, my kids went to New York City public schools, some kids went a year and a half without being in a classroom. That’s extraordinary setback for those kids. We can’t let that keep happening. So that’s why I thought it was important, every child is welcome, but let's really push vaccination. For the older kids, 12 and up, it's over 80% now vaccinated. So I think we’re going to get there with younger kids, but I’m trying to give parents a sense of urgency. We're dealing with a new reality. This is not the fall, this is the winter. We see Covid go up in winter, big holiday gatherings, Omicron. It is time to get vaccinated.”