NYC Mayor de Blasio announces COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private sector workers

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday issued a "preemptive strike," mandating that all private sector employees in the Big Apple be vaccinated against COVID-19 amid the new threat posed by the omicron variant beginning Dec. 27. 

De Blasio, whose term is set to expire in a matter of weeks, broke the news during an interview on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" Monday morning.

"We’ve got omicron as a new factor, we’ve got the colder weather, which is going to really create additional challenges with the delta variant, we’ve got holiday gatherings," de Blasio said.

"We in NYC have decided to use a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID," de Blasio said.