The recent increase in numbers across the country has set off the alarm and multiple states, cities, federal agencies and lately private companies are strongly considering the vaccine requirement for workers and employees. We already reported that multiple private companies like Google, Facebook, Lyft any many other big businesses announced vaccine requirement for their workers.
The latest vaccine requirement came from directly Joe Biden himself on Thursday, when he said he is thinking of mandating all federal workers to get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. Will this happen, time will show.
Meanwhile, more and more companies are joining the ‘vaccination requirement club’. The latest to join on the list is the Equinox Group who announced on Monday that they will require the SoulCycle and Equinox members, riders and staff to show a one-time proof of vaccination in order to be allowed to enter the facilities.
According to the company’s announcement, the decision will go info effect for the first time in New York starting September. It’s unclear why the company decided for this step since they confirmed that more than 96% of members and more than 89% of employees already reported being fully vaccinated.
“We have a responsibility to take bold action and respond to changing circumstances with urgency,” said Equinox Group Executive Chairman Harvey Spevak. “We encourage other leading brands to join us in this effort to best protect our communities.”
Equinox Group’s decision comes in a period when the numbers of new cases are on the rise across the country as a result of the highly contagious Delta variant.
As the company reported, 40% of the 100 Equinox’s fitness facilities are located in New York. The same applies for SoulCycle, majority of their studios are located in New York.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked private businesses on Monday to ask their employees for vaccine proof before they enter their offices.
Meanwhile, despite previous threats of mask mandate across the city limits, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on a press release Monday said that he strongly recommends New Yorkers to wear masks no matter their vaccination status.
We will see if other companies will join the vaccine requirement soon.