WASHINGTON — Some businesses say they are happy to see the vaccine mandate come to the District of Columbia.
On Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that anyone 12 or older will need to show proof of one dose of vaccination to get into places such as restaurants and gyms starting Jan. 5. By Feb. 15, people will need to show proof of two doses of vaccinations to enter such businesses.
Chef Danny Lledó, owner of Xiquet & Slate Wine Bar, said the mandate takes pressure off businesses who may have to deal with customers who disagree with vaccine mandates.
“Because now my hands are tied because the government is choosing to do it this way,” he said. “It’s a simple choice toward the guest.”
The Dirty Goose, a bar on U Street NW, has been asking customers for vaccine cards since July. They say they haven’t run into any major problems because of it.
“Everyone feels really comfortable, everyone feels really safe here,” said Dirty Goose Manager Matt Thompson. “In the beginning, we had the issue of not everyone having their cards on them or proof of vaccination, so that proved to be a little bit of a challenge. But, over the months, everyone’s kind of gotten it together.”
VIDA Fitness has also been asking its gym goers for proof of vaccination dating back to August. Founder David Von Storch says he’s happy other DC businesses will now follow suit.
“It absolutely vindicates and supports our position all along,” he said. “Our position all along is get vaccinated.”
However, Von Storch said there was a process VIDA had to go through to set up its verification system.
“I will say that it was a process because there's really no protocol, right?” he said. “So, we had to find a HIPAA compliance partner, we use Crowd Pass, and we had to work with our software provider so that when someone checks into the gym, we can verify their vaccination status.”
Either way, Lledó says he is not worried about enforcing the mandate.
“Our staff is ready to do that,” he said. “It’s for the safety of everybody and it’s the right thing to do.”