When the COVID-19 vaccines started becoming readily available, several cities around the country, including D.C., rolled out indoor vaccination mandates. These required restaurants to check for a customer’s proof of vaccination before seating them inside, and they required some people to get a vaccine to keep their job.
A new study examines the effectiveness of the mandates. The study — conducted by researchers at three universities, including George Mason University’s Mercatus Center — looked at the impact indoor mandates had in cities that imposed them, including D.C., New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. “Their intended outcomes were to raise vaccination rates, for people to get more vaccines; and consequently, the expectation was that COVID cases and deaths would go down,” noted Vitor Melo, a postdoctoral fellow at the Mercatus Center.
As compared to cities that didn’t implement mandates, Melo said his study found “there’s not much to show for it.” “COVID cases were not affected, COVID deaths were not affected, and really, there’s no evidence that people got more vaccinated because of these mandates,” Melo said. While admitting the mandates had an impact on people who wouldn’t get vaccinated, Melo added “there really doesn’t seem much to show for it.” A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment.