Everyone who works in the city must be vaccinated by the end of the month.

Today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all private employers operating within the city must require their employees to be vaccinated by December 27. As COVID cases rise and the Omicron variant proliferates, de Blasio says that enacting a mandate now is the best course of action to prevent widespread shutdowns and heavier restrictions.

“The more universal they are, the more likely employees will say okay, it’s time. I’m going to do this. Because you can’t jump from one industry to another or one company to another. It’s something that needs to be universal to protect all of us,” De Blasio said.

Breaking News: New York City will implement a sweeping vaccine mandate for all private employers that will take effect Dec. 27, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, calling it the first mandate of its kind in the U.S.https://t.co/7Wyl6fENt2

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 6, 2021

“We need to take very bold action. We’re seeing restrictions starting to come back. We’re seeing shutdowns,” de Blasio added. “We can not let those restrictions come back. We can not have shutdowns in New York.”

BREAKING: Employers in New York City must require COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers under new rules announced Monday by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The vaccine mandate for private businesses will take effect December 27. pic.twitter.com/9XrCGCCSAo

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 6, 2021

De Blasio is fairly certain that this new mandate will hold up in a legal capacity in the event anyone attempts to strike it down in court. “Our health commissioner has put a series of mandates in place. They have won in court, state court, federal court every single time. And it’s because they’re universal and consistent. And they’re about protecting the public right now from a clear and present danger,” De Blasio said.