Roughly 75 percent of DC residents support now-ended city vaccine mandate: poll

Nearly 3 out of 4 D.C. residents said in a new Washington Post poll released on Tuesday that they are in favor of keeping the proof of vaccination coronavirus pandemic rule that Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) rescinded this week.

According to the survey, 74 percent of Washington residents said they supported the district-wide rule that required patrons to provide proof of vaccination when entering certain businesses such as restaurants, gyms and concert venues. Another 24 percent said they opposed the rule and the remaining 2 percent had no opinion.

Beginning on Jan. 15, certain District businesses were required to ask for proof of vaccination for all patrons over the age of 12. Businesses that were found to be ignoring this rule risked being fined.

However, Bowser announced during a press briefing on Monday that the District would be dropping the rule, citing a drop in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

“We are in a much better place now,” she said.

D.C.’s indoor mask mandate on gyms, salons and bars will also expire on Feb. 28, WTOP reported.

However, masks will still be required in buildings such as schools, child care centers and libraries.

“What we know is that we have to be nimble, if something should change, like it changed in December, with a new, very contagious variant,” Bowser said. “I don’t think any of us can say here that there won’t be other variants that would require us to do something different. So just like when omicron presented itself, we adjusted our approach.”

The Washington Post poll also found that a majority of respondents — 63 percent — felt that Bowser had issued the “right amount” coronavirus restrictions while 16 percent said she issued too many and 19 percent said she had not issued enough.

The Washington Post poll was conducted from Feb. 2-14 and had a sample size of 904 adult D.C. residents. The results of the survey have a margin of error of 4 percentage points.