Businesses Like WeHo's Abbey Setting Own Vaccine Requirements For Customers
WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) - As daily coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continue to rise in LA County, some businesses like the Abbey in WeHo are setting their own customer requirements to protect staff from attacks over safety protocols related to COVID-19.
The iconic bar has joined the growing list of businesses requiring proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry into the establishment.
"Ugh. It's about time. We should've been doing this from the get-go," Joe Goldman, who supports the requirement, said.
In its announcement, the Abbey said their staff has repeatedly been screamed at, spit on and punched by customers upset over the COVID protocol enforcement.
"We want to support businesses that are enforcing the use of vaccines because that's what keeps us safe," Goldman said.
It's not just clubs and restaurants either. Entire school systems like Cal State and the University of California campuses are requiring vaccinations for students and staff to return to classes.
"With the Delta Variant out there right now, it's been spreading so quickly. A lot of people are realizing that it's important to get vaccinated to protect not only themselves, but the community also," Walmart Pharmacy Manager, Bobby Ho, said.
Weekend vaccination clinics are also popping up in an effort to bring in younger people for their vaccinations.
"I got an email from my college that they are doing vaccination event here and I'm like this is the perfect time to get it, enough postponing," Shushanik Tsaghkyan, an LAVC student, said.
This week, health officials called out young and unvaccinated people as the population leading this latest COVID-19 surge.
"Especially with clubs and things, to get younger people vaccinated, it's a good idea. It'll encourage them to get vaccinated.'
There's no uniform way for businesses to enforce the vaccine requirements, so each business has to decide on how to do that on their own.