没有接受新冠肺炎疫苗注射的纽约运动员和演员现在不会被禁止进入球场或舞台。但是一些仍被要求出示疫苗接种证明的纽约人认为这种双重标准是不公平的。
纽约市长埃里克·亚当斯(Eric Adams)周四宣布，他将放弃所有城市运动员和表演者在参加比赛或活动时出示疫苗接种证明的要求。亚当斯说他的决定是基于城市的低新冠肺炎病例和住院率以及该市重启经济的目标。
亚当斯在花旗球场举行的新闻发布会上说:“我们必须在球场上才能获胜。”在花旗球场，未接种疫苗的大都会球员将不再担心下个月棒球赛季开始时不能参加比赛。
在周四宣布之前，未接种疫苗的运动员不能参加主场比赛，因为场馆要求每个人都要接种疫苗才能入场。然而，来访的演员和演艺人员则不在此列。
这影响了布鲁克林篮网队，因为其明星控卫凯里·欧文多次拒绝接种疫苗。
欧文在赛季的前三个月被列为不活跃，但在1月份被召去参加客场比赛。在周三对阵孟菲斯灰熊队的最后一场比赛中，他拿下43分。
亚当斯说，旧规则使团队和表演者处于不利地位。
亚当斯说:“这是为了让纽约市的表演者有一个公平的竞争环境。”。
埃里克·彭齐奇/舒特斯托克
2022年3月24日，纽约市长埃里克·亚当斯在纽约花旗球场发表演讲。
由演员权益组织代表的百老汇演员先前同意强制接种疫苗。
“百老汇剧院预计我们的协议不会因为这一声明而有任何变化。百老汇联盟主席夏洛特·圣马丁(Charlotte St. Martin)说:“我们将继续与我们的工会和医疗专家合作，为观众、演员和工作人员评估我们的COVID安全协议。
市长补充说，这一决定将有助于场馆和在竞技场和娱乐场所工作的员工以及当地企业。
但并不是每个人都对市长的决定感到兴奋，特别是一些代表城市工人的工会要求出示疫苗接种证明去工作。
“不能有一个系统是给精英们的，而另一个系统是给我们城市的核心工人的。我们已经准备好和市长一起解决细节问题，就像我们在整个过程中所做的那样，”穿制服的卫生人员协会主席哈里·内斯波利说。
市议会议长阿德里安娜·亚当斯(Adrienne E. Adams)也对纽约人收到的关于疫苗要求的“模糊信息”表示担忧。
“这项豁免发出了一个错误的信息，即高薪工人和名人被视为比我们忠诚的公务员更重要，对此我表示反对。她在一份声明中说:“这与遵循优先考虑公平的明智的公共卫生驱动政策相去甚远。”。
本月早些时候市长取消了对室内商业和场地的要求，包括电影院，让他们的顾客出示疫苗接种证明并戴上口罩。他还取消了学校戴口罩的规定，并将取消2-4岁儿童戴口罩的规定。
截至周四，77.5%的纽约人接种了全部疫苗，36.3%的居民接受了加强剂量，据该市卫生部门称。
市长和卫生部门一再强调，新冠肺炎疫苗是预防该病毒引起的住院和死亡的最有效方法，并鼓励更多的纽约人接种疫苗。
New York City vaccine mandate rollback prompts concerns of double standard
Big Apple athletes and performers who haven't received their COVID-19 vaccine shots now won't be barred from taking the court or stage. But some New Yorkers who are still required to show proof of vaccination are calling foul on what they see as a double standard.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday that he was dropping the mandate that all city-based athletes and performers show proof of vaccination to take part in their game or event. Adams said his decision was based on the city'slow COVID-19 cases and hospitalizationsand the city's goal to restart its economy.
"We have to be on the field in order to win," Adams said during a news conference at Citi Field, where unvaccinated Mets players will no longer have to worry about not playing when the baseball season begins next month.
Until Thursday’s announcement, unvaccinated athletes could not play home games, because venues required everyone to be vaccinated for entry. Visiting players and entertainers, however, were exempt.
This affected the Brooklyn Nets after its star point guard, Kyrie Irving, repeatedly refused to get vaccinated.
Irving was listed inactive during the first three months of the season but was called up in January for road games. He scored 43 points in his last game Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Adams said the old rules put teams and performers at a disadvantage.
"This is about putting New York City performers on a level playing field," Adams said.
Broadway performers represented by Actors Equity previously agreed to mandatory vaccinations.
"Broadway theatres anticipate no change in our protocols based on this announcement. We continue to evaluate our COVID safety protocols for audiences, cast and crew, in concert with our unions and medical experts," Charlotte St. Martin, the president of The Broadway League, said.
The mayor added that the decision will help the venues and employees who work in the arenas and entertainment venues and local businesses.
But not everyone was thrilled with the mayor's decision, particularly some unions representing city workers who arerequired to show proof of vaccinationto work.
"There can’t be one system for the elite and another for the essential workers of our city. We stand ready to work out the details with the mayor, as we have been throughout this process," Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, said.
City Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams also expressed concerns about the "ambiguous messages" sent to New Yorkers about vaccine requirements.
"This exemption sends the wrong message that higher-paid workers and celebrities are being valued as more important than our devoted civil servants, which I reject. This is a step away from following sensible public health-driven policies that prioritize equity," she said in a statement.
Earlier in the month, themayor dropped the requirement for indoor businesses and venues, including movie theaters, to have their customers show proof of vaccination and wear a mask. He also dropped the mask mandate for schools and is set to drop the mask mandate for children 2- to 4-years old.
As of Thursday, 77.5% of all New Yorkers were fully vaccinated, and 36.3% of residents had received their booster dose,according to the city's Health Department.
The mayor and health department have repeatedly stressed that the COVID-19 vaccines are the most effective way of preventing hospitalizations and death caused by the virus and encouraged more New Yorkers to get their shots.
