LOS Angeles is now requiring patrons of indoor establishments such as restaurants, coffee shops, movie theaters, gyms, and salons to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.
The city’s new vaccine proof mandate took effect on Monday, November 8, but it won’t be fully enforced until Nov. 29.
Called the SafePassLA ordinance, it is one of the country’s strictest measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Under the ordinance, patrons age 12 and older entering an indoor establishment are required to show any of the following:
- A physical vaccination card issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or similar documentation issued by another foreign governmental agency;
- A photocopy of a vaccination card or a photograph stored on a phone or electronic device;
- A digital COVID-19 vaccination record issued by the State of California or similar documentation issued by another state, local or foreign government jurisdiction, or by a private company; or
- Documentation of a COVID-19 vaccination from a healthcare provider.
Individuals age 18 and over will also be required to show identification with their proof of vaccination.
Further, the ordinance will also require attendees of outdoor events with 5,000 or more people to show proof of vaccination or that they’ve recently tested negative for the coronavirus.
An individual can be exempted if they have medical conditions that restrict their ability to get vaccinated or a “sincerely held religious belief,”’ according to the ordinance. However, they will be required to use outdoor facilities or show evidence of a recent negative COVID-19 test to come inside if no outdoor area is available.
Meanwhile, unvaccinated patrons or those who have no proof of vaccination can still opt to use outdoor areas of any establishments. They will also be allowed to briefly go inside the location to use the restroom, place an order, or pick up an item if they’re masked.
The SafePassLA ordinance will apply to:
- Restaurants, bars, fast food establishments, coffee shops, tasting rooms, cafeterias, food courts, breweries, wineries, distilleries, banquet halls and hotel ballrooms.
- Gyms and fitness venues, including recreation facilities, fitness studios (including for yoga, pilates, dance, and barre), boxing gyms, fitness boot camps and facilities that hold indoor group fitness classes.
- Entertainment and recreation venues including movie theaters, shopping centers, concert venues, performance venues, adult entertainment venues, commercial event and party venues, sports arenas, convention centers, exhibition halls, museums, malls, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, card rooms, family entertainment centers, pool and billiard halls, play areas and game centers.
- Personal care establishments, including spas, nail salons, hair salons, barbershops, tanning salons, estheticians, skin care, tattoo shops, piercing shops and massage therapy locations, unless medically required.
Starting Nov. 29, businesses that won’t comply will be issued a warning for the first violation, a $1,000 fine for a second violation, $2,000 fine for a third violation, and a $5,000 fine for a fourth and subsequent violations.
According to public health officials, 80% of eligible Los Angeles County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 71% of those eligible are fully vaccinated.
In October, LA City Council voted 11-2 for the ordinance that will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter indoor establishments.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, stressed that the mandate will encourage more people to get vaccinated and make businesses safer for employees and customers.
“Vaccinating more Angelenos is our only way out of this pandemic, and we must do everything in our power to keep pushing those numbers up,” he said. n
This makes zero sense. People who are fully vaccinated get and easily spread covid. According to a recent study in the Lancet, “fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load similar to unvaccinated cases and can transmit infection…” Likewise, “People who get vaccine breakthrough infections can be contagious,” says the CDC. Therefore, vaccinated people Even more compelling, …“vaccinated individuals still have the potential to infect others. Worse, one CDC report shows that vaccinated people can still be superspreaders. If vaccinated people still get and spread covid with the same viral load as unvaccinated people then vaccinated people should be tested for covid in the same manner as unvaccinated people, correct? Correct. CDC also states, “vaccination is NOT sufficient to prevent transmission of covid virus.” If vaccination is not sufficient to prevent transmission of covid virus, then why are employees being fired for not being vaccinated? An irrational fear of covid doesn’t entitle a workplace to discriminate against persons based on vaccine status. Simply put, there are no compelling or extraordinary reasons to selectively discriminate against unvaccinated people when vaccinated people can still infect others, have similar viral load and be contagious. Therefore, given the absence of logical grounds to continue such discrimination employers should immediately cease and desist such discrimination. An unvaccinated person carries the same level of safety as a vaccinated person, given both can get and spread covid. A more rational, fair and least restrictive solution would be to provide rapid covid testing for all employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, provide free testing at stores, schools and hospitals and require all people to wear masks indoors until there’s ample evidence of herd immunity. The highly transmissible Omicron variant could help countries reach herd immunity as cases continue to rise, health experts say. More compelling, experts say Omnicrom is, “less severe than other variants” and “delta variant is the most common worldwide variant.” Thus, the Biden admins argument that Omicrom is a threat is a falsehood. Nobody wants to get covid. But it’s going to happen. Thus, it’s more important to take rational, reasonable steps and to put more effort into treating covid, not firing nurses, doctors, teachers, who don’t want to get a vaccine that the sciense itself says, “Is not sufficient to prevent transmission of covid.”
Therefore, someone’s irrational, idiotic, absurd fear of covid does not rise to the level of allowing discrimination. People who are fully vaccinated that claim to be “afraid” of unvaccinated are not following the science. Science says fully vaccinated people can, do and are spreading covid. Finally,
Sources: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cdc-report-shows-vaccinated-people-can-spread-covid-19/ar-AAML2bE https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00648-4/fulltext
https://www.ibtimes.com/covid-19-herd-immunity-possible-omicron-cases-surge-experts-say-3369737d.