The Challenges of Getting Employees Vaccinated

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It’s Friday.

Weather: Lots of sun today, high in the upper 80s. Mid-80s and mixed sun and clouds over the weekend, with a stray thunderstorm later on Sunday.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Aug. 15 (Feast of the Assumption).

Credit…Laila Stevens for The New York Times

The announcement was bold.

In a first among U.S. cities as they fight the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said this week that New York City would require proof of vaccination for all workers and customers at restaurants, gyms, theaters and a selection of other indoor venues.

But the issue of mandating vaccines can be complicated, particularly for the city’s small businesses. For them, the loss of even a few workers because of a requirement could have an outsize impact — and many employees are low-income, a demographic that polling shows is less likely to get vaccinated.

At an eyewear company in the Bronx, my colleague Nicole Hong delved into the challenges of getting every worker vaccinated.

[Read her full story on the company’s struggles here.]

Here are a few highlights:

The backdrop

The Bronx is home to New York City’s lowest vaccination rate, city data shows, with less than 60 percent of adults fully inoculated. Most of the 58 employees at the company that Ms. Hong looked at — Metro Optics Eyewear, which has four stores in the Bronx — live in the borough.

The initial rollout

John Bonizio, the owner of Metro Optics, was ecstatic when he learned in January that optometrists and their staff members would soon be eligible for the vaccine. He found a hospital with open appointments and offered to schedule one for every employee.

About half of the staff members rushed to secure slots. But others shared concerns: a lack of trust in government, worries about false conspiracy theories, anxieties around the vaccines’ lack of formal federal approval.

Mr. Bonizio considered firing employees who refused to be vaccinated. But he had reservations.

The next stages

Instead of a vaccination requirement, Mr. Bonizio opted to use persuasion and incentives: regular reminders, car pools to vaccination sites, even $1,000 bonuses.

It wasn’t enough.

The company announced in March that anyone still unvaccinated would be required to submit to a weekly Covid-19 test. It led to another wave of vaccinations, but there were a handful of holdouts, and keeping track of testing became a new challenge.

The outlook

Metro Optics has decided to require all new full-time employees to be vaccinated.

Six current staff members remain unvaccinated.

Tiara Felix, 31, said she loves her job at one of the stores, managing customer orders in a back-room lab. But a vaccination mandate could spur her departure.

“There’s no choice,” she said. “I’ll have to quit.”

From The Times

New Jersey Governor to Announce Mask Mandate for Students

Sexual Harassment Report Spurs Quick Action on Cuomo Impeachment Inquiry

How Cuomo and His Team Retaliated Against His Accusers

He Has Asthma and Cancer. But He Still Was Moved to a Crowded Shelter.

The Nights When New York Felt Alive Again

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

New York will increase special education services for students in the Bronx after a years-old lawsuit was resolved with a settlement. [Chalkbeat New York]

A Sikh temple on Long Island was vandalized with racial slurs and other messages, the police said. [Daily News]

The singer Maluma was announced as a performer at the city’s “homecoming” concert in Central Park this month. [NBC 4 New York]

And finally: Your social weekend

The Times’s Melissa Guerrero writes:

While people are still connecting through virtual events and programs, with the summer season here and more people getting vaccinated, venues and organizations are holding in-person events. Here are suggestions for maintaining a New York social life this weekend:

In-person: People’s Market

On Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., visit the People’s Market at the People’s Forum in Manhattan for a lineup of vendors selling handmade goods, herbal items, art and more.

R.S.V.P. for free on the event page.

Virtual: Sacred sites tour

Listen to speakers talk about the Flushing Remonstrance and sacred sites in the area on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

To access the link, register on the event page. Donations are welcome.

In-person and virtual: Met Opera Summer Recital

On Sunday at 7 p.m. in Central Park, watch a performance of some of opera’s most beloved works, as part of the SummerStage festival.

Visit the event page for more info.

It’s Friday — make some plans.

Metropolitan Diary: Taking the A train

Dear Diary:

I’m taking the A train
Going uptown
Looking for a street
Called Memory Lane

I’m aching to hear a Harlem refrain
At a swinging old club of renown so
I’m taking the A train

We’re smoking now I can’t complain
One brass token takes me
Uptown, not down
I’m taking the A train
That boy with the horn
Did he retain
The art of blowing such a
Bittersweet sound?
To find out
I’m taking the A train

That famous old club
Oh, what was its name?
The Duke played there
And taking his word
I’m taking the A train

I remember through the smoke
Black eyes asking,
Am I Blue?
A screeching riff of steel wheels
Carries me uptown through
The Isle of Dreams
I’m taking the A train

We’re slowing down
Here I go
Uptown not down
I’m taking the A train
Looking for a street
Called Memory Lane

— Sharon Williams

Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Read more Metropolitan Diary here.

New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. Sign up here to get it by email. You can also find it at nytoday.com.