A mobile app providing proof of vaccination – Photo: Jeremy Bezanger, via Unsplash.
D.C.’s LGBTQ bars, as well as other bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and indoor gathering spaces will be required to ask for proof of vaccination for entry beginning on Jan. 15, 2022.
On Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that beginning on that date, establishments that open themselves up to the public, or so-called “cultural and entertainment establishments” will be required to verify that patrons 12 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The order will subsequently ratchet up a month later, requiring all patrons aged 12 and older to have provide proof that they have received at least two shots, making them “fully vaccinated,” by Feb. 15.
Bowser’s order does not require patrons to provide proof that they have been “boosted,” or received a subsequent third shot of a vaccine — which is being recommended by some medical providers to protect against emerging COVID variants.
Per the mayor’s order, proof of vaccination will be required in indoor establishments serving food and drink, including restaurants, nightclubs, taverns, coffee shops, and food halls; indoor “cultural and entertainment establishments” such as concert, live entertainment and sporting venues, movie theaters, and bowling alleys; indoor exercise and recreational establishments, including gyms, fitness studios, and recreation centers; and for indoor venues used for large-scale conferences.
Beginning on Jan. 15, those establishments will be required to display signage informing patrons that they must show proof of vaccination for entry. Downloadable and printable copies of the required signage will be available free of charge on the city’s COVID-19 website.
Bouncers, security, or other employees checking for proof of vaccination will only be allowed to accept a physical Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination card, a digital or photo copy of a CDC Vaccination Card, or a COVID-19 verification app such as VaxYes or CLEAR.
The new order comes on the heels of Bowser’s decision to reinstate a mask mandate requiring that masks be worn in indoor venues beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 21 until Jan. 31, when city health officials will evaluate whether to continue the mandate.
Both orders have been issued in response to an uptick in confirmed COVID cases — many caused by the much more contagious, but less lethal (for those who are vaccinated), omicron variant. According to the mayor’s office, the weekly case rate for COVID has risen to 866.8 cases per 100,000 people, a drastic increase from a month earlier, when the weekly case rate was 96 cases per 100,000 people, although hospitalization rates for those who test positive have decreased.
By instituting both the mask mandate and the requirement to show proof of vaccination, Bowser avoids imposing capacity limits and service restrictions that were introduced last year at the beginning of the global pandemic, which business owners have claimed crippled not only their own businesses, but the larger economy, and even led to the closure of some less financially stable establishments.
That said, many D.C. establishments, including several of the city’s LGBTQ bars, have already required patrons to show proof of vaccination for several months.
The year's nearly out. Sometimes that calls for taking sweet stock of the past months' wonderful events. Coming to the end of 2025, on the other hand, is more like getting to that denouement in the action movie where the survivors take a breath and pat each other on the back for having made it out alive. At this stage, we are Newt getting tucked-in to her Sulaco hibernation tube.
With some effort and a pinch of luck, may we all fare better in 2026 than poor Newt's end at the start of Alien 3.
Why such a shitty year? So much of it, obviously, can be laid at the feet of Lame Duck Donald. Not that he hasn't had loads of assistance in his evil efforts to erase our transgender family and friends, colleagues, and leaders during 2025. The purge, as promised, began right out of the gate on Inauguration Day.
A federal judge has sentenced Ruby Corado, the founder and former executive director of the now-shuttered D.C. nonprofit Casa Ruby, to 33 months in federal prison for wire fraud -- a punishment that could ultimately lead to her deportation from the United States, despite her status as a legal permanent resident.
On January 13, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden granted federal prosecutors’ request for a more severe sentence, exceeding the 15-21 months recommended under federal sentencing guidelines.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia argued that Corado betrayed the trust of Casa Ruby’s clients by transferring $200,000 to personal offshore bank accounts in her native El Salvador, held under her birth name, for what prosecutors said was the purpose of enriching herself.
Turn back to 2015, and you may recall a busy year. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of nationwide marriage equality. Barack Obama's second term was coming to a close. Caitlyn Jenner came out as transgender. Star Wars offered up the seventh installment of its ongoing space opera. And, in December, Trade opened on 14th Street.
Ed Bailey, sort of the public-facing proprietor of a decades-running D.C. gay nightlife empire -- along with John Guggenmos and Jim "Chachi" Boyle -- knew the space well. He's long lived just around the corner. Since World Pride, back in June, the original Trade space has more than doubled. Bailey was particularly familiar with the next-door addition the bar grew into.
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