Photo: WBZ NewsRadio Staff
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston is ending its vaccine and testing requirements for city workers next week. An internal memo from Chief People Officer Alex Lawrence to city employees said the formal requirement will lapse on May 11.
Boston employees were required to submit proof of vaccination or test for COVID regularly beginning in December 2021. In the memo, the city said more than 95% of its employees eventually got vaccinated.
In dropping the mandate, the city said the healthcare ecosystem has changed. "We have more tools to manage this virus, data indicate that there are fewer large scale outbreaks, and our healthcare system is not under the acute strain it was in December 2021," the memo read.
The mandate is timed to expire on the same day that the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ends.
The vaccination program stirred controversy for a new Wu Administration in 2021, when some city employees protested the mandate. At least two outspoken critics in the Boston Police were eventually fired: Sgt. Shana Cottone, and Officer Joseph Abasciano.
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