Pasadena City Manager: No Plans to Require Proof of Vaccination for Indoor Activities

[UPDATED] A city official told Pasadena Now on Tuesday morning that there are no plans to officially require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for indoor activities.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a proof of vaccination requirement for most indoor events in New York City on Tuesday.

The policy is believed to be the first such mandate by an American city.

According to CNN, dining at restaurants, working out at a gym, attending a movie or play in New York City will require proof of vaccination starting August 16.

“City staff has no plans to implement or recommend to the City Council similar action; however, we encourage all employers to require their employees be vaccinated and urge the eligible but yet unvaccinated public to please get vaccinated as it is the only sure way to defeat COVID-19 and return to normality,” said Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell.

The city has taken its own steps to combat the Delta variant, including a mandatory indoor mask mandate.

Mermell is also preparing to roll out a policy that would require all city employees be vaccinated.

The Pasadena Unified School District is set to discuss the district’s vaccination policy on Thursday.

Last Thursday, Public Health Director Dr. Ying-Ying Goh said there is a higher risk of transmission on campuses due to the high proportion of the unvaccinated population, since many students are not eligible yet for a vaccine. Vaccines currently are not administered to children younger than 12.

Goh said if every district employee will get vaccinated, there will be less risk of transmission and it will be less likely for the community to experience outbreaks. As a result, disruption in the operation of schools would be avoided.

“We know that COVID-19 is a deadly and dangerous disease and that it is very disruptive to any operation but very much so in a setting where many people may not be vaccinated because they are not eligible yet or otherwise.”

“With less and less vaccinated population, you end up with outbreaks that will result in illness that spreads to family members who may not be vaccinated.”

According to county health officials, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has nearly quadrupled since last month.

The county has been experiencing sharp increases in daily case numbers, hospitalizations and test-positivity rates over the past several weeks, with the increases attributed to the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

On Monday, the city’s health department reported 21 new cases of the virus. This past weekend, 22 cases of infection were reported on Sunday and 26 on Saturday.

Since the pandemic started, the health department has reported  11,946 confirmed cases of the virus and 352 deaths.