When Juan Guerreros heard about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to implement a proof-of-vaccination policy for indoor dining, gyms, and entertainment venues, it made him think about relocating because he does not want to get vaccinated.
“My plan is to take out my kids and start finding freedom in Florida or Texas and if we don’t have it down there, I’ve already trained my kids and my wife that we’re going to have to die for this fight,” Guerreros told the Epoch Times.
“They’re pushing everybody to do what the government wants to them do, and that is to get vaccinated,” Guerreros said in an interview near one of his storefronts in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. “I believe we are going to die from it. ... This is the new world order. It’s everywhere, but for now [Gov. Ron] DeSantis in Florida is fighting it.”
Starting in September, under de Blasio’s “Key to NYC Pass” vaccination mandate, New Yorkers will be required to show proof of vaccination to dine at restaurants indoors, exercise inside a gym, or attend indoor performances.
“It makes me feel cast out,” said Ferness Johnson, who lives in West Harlem on 125th Street and Broadway. “There’s no other way to feel. It’s an unjust situation. It feels like we’re living under Martial Law.”
Like Johnson and Guerreros, George Macias plans to remain unvaccinated for as long as possible and foresees forced vaccinations in the near future.
“When the police come or whichever government agency is going to be in charge of forcing this, they should come with full body armor because I’m not gonna let them do something that I don’t want,” Macias, who lives in Washington Heights, told The Epoch Times. “I’m gonna stand my ground. Simple as that.”
Although Tonya Adamo works for the city of New York, she disagrees with Mayor de Blasio’s mandate.
“I really don’t wish to be vaccinated at this time,” Adamo told the Epoch Times while she was shopping with her boyfriend in Washington Heights. “It’s too soon and I feel like they really haven’t researched it. What’s the point of being vaccinated when they say people who have been vaccinated need booster shots because you could still get COVID-19? There are a lot of misconceptions and that’s why I’m waiting it out to see what happens.”
William Carrington, a construction worker who lives in Harlem, said de Blasio won’t win the battle because most people can survive without eating in restaurants and attending performances.
“I lift weights at home,” Carrington told The Epoch Times. “There’s too many options for you to try and stop somebody from doing something. I’m always going to eat. You know who it’s going to hurt? The restaurant and gym owners, because now people who refuse to get vaccinated aren’t spending their money on shows, gym memberships, or eating out. Besides, tickets to see a Broadway show cost $150. I can do without that.”
As a resident of senior citizen housing near West 125 Street in Harlem, Sammy Davis is surrounded by neighbors who have been vaccinated, but Davis is holding out. He calls the vaccine “medicine.”
“This medicine been out about for what, nine months? Something like that,” Davis Told the Epoch Times. “How can they make a powerful medicine that works in eight or nine months? God is my vaccine.”
