San Francisco on Friday expanded its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for city employees to include workers who contract with the city who now must be fully vaccinated by the end of the year.
The mandate will apply to all city commissioners and to contractors who work alongside city employees at any facility or work site the city owns, leases or controls.
Some contractors, such as those who work in high-risk settings like jails and hospitals, are already required to be fully vaccinated or will have an earlier deadline than the Dec. 31 requirement.
“Our vaccine mandate for city employees has always been about protecting the public we serve and protecting our workforce,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “By extending the mandate to contractors who work alongside our city workers, we are continuing to do everything we can to keep our city workforce strong and healthy.”
City employees will already be required to get fully vaccinated by Nov. 1. According to city officials, more than 94 percent of employees have confirmed that they are fully vaccinated.
Roughly 2,000 of the city’s 35,000 registered employees are either unvaccinated or have yet to confirm their full vaccination status.
The city’s mandate for both employees and contractors also includes exemptions for those with documented medical reasons or religious beliefs that prevent them from getting vaccinated.
Nearly 700,000 San Francisco residents have now been vaccinated against COVID-19. Among eligible residents age 12 and older, 83 percent are fully vaccinated and 88 percent have received at least one dose.
“City contractors are an important part of the broader workforce that delivers needed services to San Francisco, so it’s important for contractors to also be vaccinated and contribute to lowering the spread of COVID-19 on city facilities and among staff,” San Francisco Department of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax said. “Vaccines remain our best defense against COVID-19, and everyone who is eligible for should get one.”