Boston Mayor Lifts Proof of Vaccination Requirement for Businesses

Michelle Wu answers questions during a press conference in Boston, Mass., on Sept. 13, 2021. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

The city of Boston announced Friday that a requirement to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination at most establishments in the city will be lifted.

Mayor Michelle Wu and Public Health Commission Executive Director Bisola Ojikutu said the policy change will be effective immediately.

“Our public health data show Boston has a 4.0 [percent] community positivity rate; 90.7 [percent] occupancy rate of adult ICU beds, and 7-day average of adult COVID-19 hospitalizations at 195.9 per day, falling below all three previously announced thresholds,” reads an announcement from the city issued Friday.

Masks, however, remain a requirement for any indoor public space.

Wu said the city had met all three public health metrics that the city previously announced, that would be required to lift the COVID-19 vaccine proof requirement: to have fewer than 95 percent of ICU beds occupied; fewer than 200 COVID-19 hospitalizations per day; and a community positivity rate below 5 percent, as defined by the Boston Public Health Commission’s seven-day moving average.

The community positivity rate represents the percent of COVID-19 tests that yield “positive” results out of all the COVID-19 tests taken in a given time period and does not represent the COVID-19 positive rates of Boston residents as a whole.

“As of today, our public health data show that Boston is officially below the 3 critical thresholds for heightened COVID protections, so we are lifting the proof of vaccination requirement,” Wu said in a statement on Twitter.

“This news highlights the progress we’ve made in our fight against COVID-19 thanks to vaccines & boosters—which have always been our most effective weapon against the pandemic,” she added. “It’s a win for every Bostonian doing our part to keep our communities safe, and we have to keep going.”

Wu said the city will continue to maintain “free, walk-in vaccination & booster clinics” across Boston.

Boston’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been in effect since less than five weeks ago.