Boston Extends Employee Vaccination Deadline to January 30 as Compliance Reaches 94 Percent

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — Boston Mayor Wu reports 94 percent city employee vaccination compliance, pushes enforcement deadline to January 30. Mayor Michelle Wu announced at a City Hall press briefing that 18,270 municipal employees, roughly 94 percent of the total workforce, had complied with the city's COVID-19 vaccination mandate first announced December 20, with more than 1,600 employees submitting proof of vaccination in the most recent period alone. Wu extended the enforcement deadline by one week to January 30, citing ongoing impact bargaining with municipal unions and continued vaccination uptake. Dr. Bisola Ojukutu, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, reported that Boston's community COVID positivity rate had fallen from a peak above 32 percent to 18.9 percent, though hospitalizations rose 12 percent week over week. The city had received 609 exemption requests still under case-by-case review. A proposal was transmitted to the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association membership allowing late-vaccinating employees a potential path back to their positions.