Boston’s vaccine mandate will not apply to professional athletes

The wording of the vaccine mandate allows for "a professional athlete/sports team who enters a covered premises as part of their regular employment for purposes of competing" to not be vaccinated. It will apply to both resident and visiting athletes.

According to the Boston Globe, right now, people 12 years old and older need to show either a recent negative COVID test or an up-to-date vaccine card in order to gain access to the TD Garden.

After the Jan. 15 2022 deadline, the option for the negative test will no longer exist, and all people wishing to enter the premises will have to show proof of vaccination.

The new vaccine mandate was revealed on Monday by Michelle Wu, Boston's mayor, and, similar to other vaccine mandates worldwide, also applies to many other types of indoor businesses.

In nearby NYC, for example, even children are now required to get the vaccine.

In countries such as Austria, meanwhile, the unvaccinated are now back to being in a complete lockdown.