BERKELEY, Calif. (KRON) — Berkeley announced 93% of eligible residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Mayor Jesse Arreguin said in a press release Tuesday.
Berkeley was the second Bay Area city to mandate a vaccine requirement to enter indoor businesses such as gyms, bars and restaurants, which began on Sept. 10.
San Francisco was the first to mandate such requirements on Aug. 20, and 83% of its eligible residents are fully vaccinated, according to the city’s website.
Berkeley requires all its city employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 15, the city said. All UC Berkeley students and faculty are required to be vaccinated.
California is poised to impose the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, a move announced last week that could push other states to follow as many did after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the first statewide stay-at-home order in the U.S. during the early days of the pandemic.
California has one of the highest vaccine rates in the country — 84% of people 12 and older have gotten at least one shot, and 70% are fully vaccinated. But the state has a vocal minority skeptical of both the vaccine and the government’s assurances of its safety. Last month, more than a thousand people gathered at the state Capitol to protest vaccine mandates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.