Social media users accuse New York City mayor of corruption due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates

At a town hall meeting with New York City’s mayor, an audience member reported the mayor said “it was un-American” to not allow migrants to work while thousands of New York City employees were terminated for not complying with vaccine mandates. She asked the mayor why he is still fighting them in court if it’s not about the vaccine, saying, “That’s over and done with, right? But why is New York City still fighting the thousands and thousands of us that are still out of work?” Thousands of social media users shared a video clip of the audience member’s question. Some social media users who shared and commented on the video called the mayor “corrupt” and said that anyone who lost their job for refusing to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates should sue.

Recommendation: While conversations about COVID-19 vaccine mandates are unlikely to arise in a clinical setting, continuing to reiterate the importance of staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines is recommended. Messaging may emphasize that vaccine mandates are intended to prevent severe illness and death caused by dangerous diseases. The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older because staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccination prevents severe illness, hospitalization, death, and long COVID. The CDC recommends that people 65 and older and immunocompromised people receive an additional dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine this spring.