Tipsheet

D.C. Will Require Vaccination to Enter Restaurants, Gyms, Entertainment Venues, and More

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  December 22, 2021 1:15 PM

Joining a growing list that includes New York City and, more recently, Chicago, the nation's capital announced Wednesday that proof of vaccination will be required for most indoor public places in Washington, D.C.

According to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), proof of vaccination will be required at restaurants, bars, nightclubs, indoor cultural and entertainment facilities, indoor exercise and recreational establishments, and indoor event and meeting establishments starting on January 15th, 2022. 

The only exception mentioned on Wednesday is a carve-out for "instances when a person is only briefly entering an establishment, e.g. to use a restroom or pick up an order." As in other cities, the burden for enforcing the proof of vaccination requirement will fall on the businesses, with some sort of enforcement to follow from city authorities if businesses aren't enforcing the requirement. 

By January 15th, patrons 12 or older of included D.C. businesses must have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and have until February 15th to be fully vaccinated in order to enter most businesses in Washington. 

Those in D.C. will have to present their physical CDC vaccination card, a photo of their CDC card, or a vaccine verification app "such as VaxYes or CLEAR." Mayor Bowser has not developed a Washington-specific vaccine passport as some other large cities have. Bowser offered no promises that her recently reinstated mask mandate would be rolled back once the vaccination requirement takes effect. Because of course. 

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In addition to the sweeping vaccine mandate for Washingtonians to enter most public businesses in D.C., Bowser also announced that, beginning March 1, 2022, "all students eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine that has been fully approved by the FDA must be immunized against COVID-19." 

The student vaccine mandate applies to those enrolled at all D.C. public schools plus charter, independent, private, and parochial students." Students who age into eligibility for an FDA approved vaccine have 70 days in which they must be vaccinated. 

While Mayor Bowser has been focused on flip-flopping restrictions and mandates that have proved frustrating for many of her city's residents and visitors, Washington, D.C. has seen an uptick in violent crime including homicides, carjackings, and assaults. Perhaps Bowser should spend more time addressing crime and less time flipping the switch on mandates and restrictions.