No vax needed to dance: Adams lifts COVID vaccine requirement for prom

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- Mayor Eric Adams ended the COVID mandate for school proms in New York on Monday.

Students are still advised to wear masks at prom and at graduation. There's also no vaccination retirement for students attending graduations.

"I am thrilled that, starting this year, every one of our young people will have the chance to celebrate all of their hard work with a prom and graduation, regardless of vaccination status," Adams said. "Vaccinations got us to where we are today, so I want to thank the millions of New Yorkers who went out and got vaccinated, doing their part to keep our city safe. I encourage anyone who hasn’t yet gotten vaccinated to do so, and to all of our students, congratulations!"

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends testing before any events. City data from mid-March shows only 56% of New York City kids between 5 and 17 years old are fully vaccinated. The COVID risk alert level was recently raised to medium.