Boston Lifts COVID-19 Jab Mandate for Indoor Venues, Effective Immediately

Another mandate bites the dust in America.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced late Friday night the city’s COVID-19 jab mandate to enter certain indoor venues will be lifted, effective immediately.

The Boston Mayor immediately backs down and abandons COVID law. https://t.co/erv5uCKUHd

— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) February 19, 2022

Mayor Wu lifts Boston proof of vax mandate, effective immediately. To restaurateur Chris Coombs, an early end for mandate was sign that it “should have never been in place. It certainly was a nuisance, & I don’t think it altered the course of the virus”https://t.co/9QGnvzWTdi

— Andrew Bostom, MD, MS (@andrewbostom) February 19, 2022

Mayor Wu said the city achieved the defined public health metrics to end the COVID-19 jab mandate.

WCVB 5 reported:

The policy mandated that three conditions be met to drop the vaccination mandate:

• Fewer than 95% of intensive care unit beds are occupied
• Fewer than 200 COVID-19 hospitalizations per day
• A community positivity rate below 5%, as defined by the Boston Public Health Commission’s seven-day moving average

Wu said Friday’s public health data showed Boston has a 4% community positivity rate; 90.7% occupancy rate of adult ICU beds, and seven-day average of adult COVID-19 hospitalizations at 195.9 per day, falling below all three previously announced thresholds.

“The public health data shows that we’re ready to take this step in our recovery,” Wu said in a statement. “This news highlights how much progress we’ve made in our fight against COVID-19 thanks to vaccines and boosters — which have always been our most effective weapon against the pandemic.”

Wu first announced the vaccination requirement in December, and it took effect on Jan. 15.

The requirement to wear masks in public indoor spaces remains in place.

Maybe a recent firestorm of criticism on Instagram Live also had something to do with the ending of Boston’s tyrannical mandate.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Jumps on Instagram Live: Flurry of Comments Speak Out Against Mandates (WATCH)

As the Boston Herald explains, the city’s mask mandate may be reaching its final days:

“The requirement to wear masks in public indoor spaces remains in place,” the city added in a press release, referring to the policy that predates Wu to last summer. “In the coming days, the Boston Public Health Commission will be reviewing the masking order in consultation with the Board of Health.”

Wu in December had implemented the requirement that many Boston businesses including restaurants, gyms and music venues require patrons to prove that they’re fully vaccinated against coronavirus. The rule began to go into effect Jan. 15, but no businesses ever received more than a talking-to, as the mayor said the city was in the “education” phase rather than a crackdown.

The enforcement phase Wu suggested would follow never ended up coming as the omicron spike receded as quickly as it rolled in.