What to Know
- Under Broadway's update to its vaccine policy, vaccinated kids must be accompanied by an adult who's fully vaccinated, meaning their last shot of the vaccine series has to be at least 14 days prior to show
- Mayor Bill de Blasio expanded the vaccine mandate on Dec. 6 to not only includes kids age 5-11, but starting Dec. 27, all private-sector workers will be required to get the jab
- The mayor said last week that details about how businesses will report workers' vaccination status would be forthcoming on Wednesday, and left companies just a few business days to figure out implementation
Parents of vaccinated and unvaccinated children alike were caught off guard when their family went to see a show on Broadway on Tuesday, as New York City's latest vaccine requirement for kids went into effect.
Wearing a red fez hat and waiting in line for "Aladdin the Musical," Theresa Amin was among the parents who were told their child couldn't get in because they weren't vaccinated.
"I've taken him to see 'Lion King' in the past but apparently as of today, that's changed. I'm going to go ahead and comply but I'm not happy about it," Amin said.
Her son and theatergoers ages 5 through 11 are required to show proof of at least one dose of vaccination to attend Broadway shows.
They must also show their identification along with their ticket. Amin was instructed to go down the block from the New Amsterdam Theatre to get her young son a rapid COVID-19 test to prove a negative before the show started.
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Under Broadway's update to its vaccine policy, vaccinated kids must be accompanied by an adult who's fully vaccinated, meaning their last shot of the vaccine series has to be at least 14 days prior to the performance.
But another parent whose daughter is vaccinated also ran into a problem because she wasn't vaccinated 14 days prior to the performance, which meant the vaccine hadn't had the time to fully take effect.
Cherie Roe said the workers told her that her daughter had to be vaccinated 14 days prior to the show. She angrily walked off, adding that the mayor "just did the mandate."
It wasn't clear how old Roe's daughter was. The two-dose requirement is only for kids aged 12 and up and is supposed to go into effect the same day the mayor's private-sector vaccination mandate does, on Dec. 27. The Dec. 14 deadline had been set only for kids aged 5 to 11 to show proof of at least one dose.
Meanwhile, the Broadway League said Wednesday that their priority was making sure all eligible workers get a booster shot.
"All of our experts are emphasizing the importance of boosters in providing the maximum protection against the virus at this point in time," Broadway league President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement.
