I work as a baker in downtown Boston, and I want to praise Mayor Michelle Wu’s decision to require proof of vaccination as a condition for indoor dining. Contrary to complaints made by a small minority of business owners, patronage flourished at our bakery on the first weekend of the vaccination requirement, in spite of both freezing temperatures and the new mandate. The vast majority of customers were easygoing; many even seemed appreciative when asked to show their vaccine cards. The few who forgot their cards or did not have photos of them simply ordered their food to go. I am impressed with my co-workers and our customers’ ability to adapt quickly and seamlessly to these new expectations. I do not think the mandate will have a negative impact on our ability to do business. Instead, it will keep us all safer and decrease the chance that we will have to shut down due to infections within our staff.
Katie Draisen
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Roslindale
I want to register my disappointment with your article about the restaurant vaccine rule taking effect (“Businesses leery of city’s COVID policy,” Page A1, Jan. 14). The quotes leaned toward anti-mandate sentiment, with only a little pushback way down in the 20th paragraph — including no pushback at all to restaurant-owner Chris Coombs’s inaccurate implication about vaccine efficacy.
I, along with most Bostonians, as polls indicate, am very supportive of the vaccine requirement for dining in restaurants. I’ve been avoiding eating in restaurants for exactly this reason, and now I’ll feel much safer (as when I visited New York). The Globe could have run an article about Bostonians looking forward to safer restaurants. Instead, you used the front page spot to amplify reactionary obstruction. It’s very, very disappointing.
Chris Toth
Boston
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