New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and NYC Comptroller Brad Lander today called on Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Dave A. Chokshi to take several steps to protect New Yorkers in our schools and around the city as the administration moves to lift some existing COVID-19 prevention and protection policies. Mayor Adams announced this week that he would be removing masks in public schools as well, as vaccine mandates on March 7th if case counts remain low.
In a joint letter to the Adams administration, the two citywide elected officials implored the administration to take steps now to both prevent future outbreaks and adapt quickly when they do occur. They stressed that while case counts remain low now, we must prepare today for tomorrow’s possible new variants and surges. New York has an obligation to protect our vulnerable and immunocompromised neighbors, and it can better do so by taking preventative action and implementing safety standards now.
The leaders lament in their letter that “so many policies over the last two years have been confusing to communities and divorced from the science,” in their request for specific, science-backed efforts that the administration should quickly implement as they continue to move to rescind existing measures.
These actions include bolstering the city’s preparations by:
- Preserving a broad surveillance testing program
- Making clear to New Yorkers what the metrics are for easing and imposing new restrictions going forward
- Preparing now to rapidly expand our testing and response capacity at the first sign of a next variant or surge
- Maintaining adequate public health infrastructure and personnel
- Keeping a focus on vaccination and education in vulnerable communities
And helping keep students, teachers, parents and school staff safe now by:
- Announcing a requirement for full COVID vaccination for students to return to school next fall, as part of the City’s standard vaccination requirements
- Continuing the in-school COVID testing program
- Ensuring that communications of school related COVID policies are communicated to families in the official New York City languages
- Focusing COVID-19 testing, outreach, and on-site vaccination/booster clinics
- Developing a long-term ventilation and air quality strategy to move past stop-gap measures
- Providing every school and contracted PreK and 3K with a consistent supply of high quality masks
- Offering an opt-in approach for teachers and students who wish to remain in all-masked classrooms
“With COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths currently back at low rates, it makes sense for the City to ease some restrictions – but it must be done with systems in place to protect vulnerable New Yorkers, to detect future variants early, and to respond quickly,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “We know future variants are likely, so we must be prepared for when they hit. We know vaccination saves lives, so let’s make clear now that it will be required for entry to school next fall. We can breathe easier when we take off our masks if we’re still working together to keep each other safe.”
“We know that as cases decrease, we will have to make difficult decisions about gradually easing some of the COVID policies in place as part of the work to find a new normalcy that works for New Yorkers; at the same time, the decisions to lift safety measures that have helped to protect New Yorkers amid new waves and new variants need to be guided by the science, not the calendar,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “We need clarity, transparency, and clear communication from the city and all levels of government on how we will prepare for and prevent future outbreaks. I urge New Yorkers to do what we know works to protect one another, and New York’s executives to move forward only in a way that ensures we don’t end up going backward.”
The full text of the letter from Comptroller Lander and Public Advocate Williams can be downloaded here.
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