A City of San Francisco worker cleaning the street. Photo: Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
The City of San Francisco announced Wednesday that it will require all of its roughly 35,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — and impose penalties that may include getting fired on workers who refuse.
Why it matters: San Francisco is the first major city in the U.S. to announce plans for a coronavirus vaccine mandate.
The big picture: There has been some resistence to vaccine mandates elsewhere in the U.S., notably in Texas where 153 Houston Methodist Hospital workers resigned or were fired over the requirement this month.
- But San Francisco has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S.
By the numbers: Data released on June 11 shows 80% of eligible residents had received at least one dose.
- Nearly 70% of all San Franciscans had been fully vaccinated by this date.
What to watch: The mandate will take effect when a COVID-19 vaccine receives full authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, rather than the current emergency use one, per the San Francisco Chronicle.