As coronavirus numbers continued to trend downward, Mayor Wu on Tuesday said that city officials are eyeing the easing of pandemic-driven restrictions such as requiring proof of vaccination at certain indoor venues. The relief is based on hospitalizations, ICU capacity, and the local positivity rate, according to Wu.
Appearing at an unrelated event outside Brighton High School, the mayor said the numbers are heading in the “right direction.” The community positivity rate stands at 7.4 percent, down from 32 percent in early January.
The thresholds Wu and public health officials are looking for before they lift restrictions: Fewer than 95 percent of ICU beds are occupied, fewer than 200 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day, and a community positivity rate below 5 percent.
The proof of vaccination requirement applies to customers and staffers at indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment arenas, where a mask mandate also remains in place.
“We have matched this proactive public health policy with equitable access to vaccines, and because of this multilayered approach, I am optimistic about where our city is headed during this pandemic,” Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said in a statement. “The City of Boston’s Covid-19 response has always been driven by science and data, and we will remain ready to adjust our strategy, guidance, and requirements as needed to keep everyone safe.”
The release of the metrics comes as city officials are locked in a legal battle with several public safety unions that oppose a vaccine mandate for the city’s 18,000 workers. Workers can request an exemption.
According to data the city provided to WBUR, Boston has approved fewer than half of the requests it received from city workers who claimed a medical or religious waiver.
The city said it has received 360 medical or religious exemption requests as of Thursday. About a third cited medical reasons and the rest relied on religious grounds. Some workers submitted both medical and religious requests.
Boston has approved 41 percent of the 155 requests it has reviewed so far. Boston said it has yet to process the remaining 205 requests. The city provided the figures in response to a public records request from WBUR.
“Each decision (approval or denial) is unique in that each request is unique,” Boston Public Records Director Shawn Williams said in a statement to WBUR on Friday. “Approvals are granted for different periods of time and for different types of arrangements — all depending on what accommodation is requested and what medical providers have recommended.”
Several public safety unions have filed a lawsuit challenging the mandate. Though a Superior Court judge rejected the suit, the state’s appellate court last month ordered the city to suspend the mandate until it can review the case.
Wu’s office has said that 95 percent of the workforce is fully vaccinated, leaving approximately 900 of the city’s 18,000 workers unvaccinated. That suggests the majority of unvaccinated workers have yet to seek a waiver.
A spokesman for Boston’s firefighter’s union said he didn’t know any firefighters who have had their applications approved.
“Most of the accommodations that were requested, it’s my understanding, were rejected, so it’s been a very frustrating situation,” said Marc Sanders, legislative agent for Boston Firefighters Local 718. Sanders said more than 91 percent of firefighters are vaccinated.
The firefighters union is one of three public safety unions that sued Wu and the city over the vaccination requirement. The Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, which represents sergeants, lieutenants and captains, also filed suit.
The unions say Wu’s directive violates their collective bargaining rights, and reneges on an agreement that allowed workers to submit to weekly testing in lieu of getting vaccinated.
“Boston firefighters feel like we’ve done the right thing for the last two years,” Sanders said. “We’ve honored our agreement with the city and we would expect the same on their behalf.”
Wu said the city is prepared to enforce the vaccine mandate, pending approval by a judge.
