How will this story end? Cordileone vs NYC

 

San Francisco's Cordileone, unvaccinated, to celebrate public Mass in NYC

Websites asking people to register in advance for the Mass instruct attendees to arrive 30 minutes prior to guarantee they will have a seat in the church, which was the cathedral for the New York Archdiocese until the current St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue opened in 1879.

While New York City has one of the country's strictest vaccination mandates for many indoor venues, businesses and private schools, a New York State mandate through at least Jan. 15 also requires everyone to wear a mask in all indoor settings unless the business or venue implements a vaccine requirement. Churches and other houses of worship are not exempt from the state's indoor mask mandate.

Zwilling said the archdiocese follows all city and state guidelines and mandates for COVID-19.

"In addition, we have our own protocols (similar to other dioceses — communion under the one form, no sign of peace, no holy water, increased cleaning and sanitation) which have proven to be very effective in the 18 months since public Mass resumed here in New York," Zwilling told NCR in an email.

Driven by omicron, the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic has hit New York hard.

As of Jan. 11, the daily average of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in New York City stood at 31%, an increase from the previous 28-day average, according to the city's health department. Hospitalizations and deaths citywide have increased over the past month.

Noting the pandemic's omicron-related winter surge, the New York City Department of Health has advised local residents to be vaccinated, to wear masks when not at home and to avoid crowded spaces, especially indoors. Overall, New York state ranks second among states where the virus is spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.

In a Dec. 1 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Cordileone said he was not vaccinated. He told the newspaper that his "immune system is strong," and that his personal physician had told him that "it's probably not necessary" for him to be vaccinated.

Cordileone also incorrectly suggested that the inoculations the federal government approved for COVID-19 "are not really vaccines."

In a recent email, the San Francisco Department of Public Health told NCR that "the data overwhelmingly shows" that COVID-19 vaccines are "proven to be safe and effective in preventing severe illness and death, and slowing the spread of the virus in the community."

"We commend San Francisco residents who have sought out information on the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine and have made the choice to get vaccinated, and boosted for their health and wellbeing as well as for the benefit of the community," the department said.