Topline
As medical experts stress the importance of getting a high percentage of the population to take Covid-19 booster shots to combat the more transmissible omicron variant, a handful of restaurants in San Francisco, New York and Chicago are saying they will now require not only proof of vaccination to dine in, but proof of a booster shot as well for those eligible.
A sign stating proof of a Covid-19 vaccination is required is displayed outside of Langer’s Deli in … [+] Los Angeles, California on August 7, 2021. – The restaurant announced that proof of vaccination would be required to dine indoors at the restaurant as Covid-19 variant causes surge in the Los Angeles area. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Cassava, a restaurant in San Francisco, began requiring proof of a booster shot for indoor dining Wednesday, citing the omicron variant in an Instagram post Tuesday.
Zuni Cafe, also in San Francisco, announced it would begin requiring proof of a booster on December 29.
Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City told CNBC Wednesday it will begin requiring its customers to show proof of a booster shot by mid-January.
Booster requirements for dining in were set to go into effect Monday at Baker Miller in Chicago, but the bakery said on Instagram the following day that anti-vaccine threats forced it to temporarily close its indoor dining area.
Baker Miller said it would not reverse its policy and told Forbes it plans to reopen in the new year when Chicago’s vaccine mandate takes effect.
Crucial Quote
“We know there are people on each side of this issue but we have based our decisions on science and safety ever since the pandemic began,” Baker Miller said of its booster requirement in a post.
Key Background
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical advisor, stressed Sunday the importance of booster shots in light of the omicron variant, which appears to be more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines compared to previous variants. A Danish study published on Wednesday that has not yet been peer-reviewed found the initial doses of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for individuals 60 and up were less effective at preventing infection against the omicron variant compared to previous variants. Immunity also waned quicker against the omicron variant compared to the delta variant, but booster doses largely boosted immunity back up to initial levels. Dr. Egon Ozer, a researcher at Northwestern University, told the Associated Press on Monday an extra Pfizer shot increases antibody levels by 25 times and an extra Moderna shot increases them 37 times.
Tangent
On Tuesday, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo proposed to make booster shots a mandatory component of vaccination against Covid-19. The proposal would require all eligible city employees to be boosted, as well as anyone who enters city-owned facilities.
