Yelp Now Lets You Search For Businesses That Require Vaccination — Showing When All Staff Are Fully Vaxxed
Safe dining just got simpler.
hedgehog94 / Shutterstock Yelp! Covid-19 cases are surging at an alarming rate — due to the delta variant.
Now that the vaccine is available in the United States, some restaurants, clubs, bars, and some small businesses are starting to require proof of vaccination before entering.
Come September, New York City will require Covid-19 vaccination proof — for at least one dose — if you want to partake in public indoor activities.
While the governors of Florida and Arkansas are actively pushing for legislation that forbids public schools from issuing mask mandates.
And how does Yelp! plan to help? By providing the facts to their users, regardless of the state they live in.
What are Yelp's "proof of vaccination" filters?
Yelp is adding a safety measure to its site that allows customers to understand two crucial pieces of information — if vaccines are required and if all staff members are vaccinated.
What is the "proof of vaccination required" filter on Yelp?
If a restaurant — or any other business — has this listed on their Yelp it means all customers must show their vaccination card or an equivalent as they enter.
This means you can be secure in the knowledge that all other customers in the premises are vaxxed up too! This filter may potentially may make or break your ability or desire to dine there.
What is the "all staff fully vaccinated" filter on Yelp?
To make things even more convenient — and safer — users will also be able to see if all staff members are fully vaccinated in a business via their Yelp page.
This ensures the spread of Covid-19 amongst staff members is minimized and let's customers know staff members are following vaccine guidelines.
Yelp allows businesses to easily update their staff's vaccination status in the app but, unfortunately, they have not made it clear if or how they verify this information.
When trying to find a quick — or long — bite to eat online, Yelp users can see a variety of information about a restaurant with the click of a button. From customer reviews, reservation status, to whether or not the business is cash only, it’s pretty easy to find out what you need to know without walking inside any establishment.
Yelp also has a Covid-19 precautions feature.
Over the summer, Yelp also added a way for businesses to update their profiles with all of the Covid-19 precautions that they're taken.
Yelp wrote that this new feature will inform users "how businesses have adapted to keep their customers safe, and aims to instill confidence in consumers to continue supporting local businesses."
Laura A. Albers, vice president of marketing for City Winery — the first Atlanta restaurant to require proof of vaccination to dine — is in full support of Yelp’s choice to display this information.
“I think more restaurants and venues will join forces and do the same, the more they see other places doing it,” Albers continued to say. “Since another week has gone by and people have seen the uptick in the Delta variant, this policy is not as foreign as it was. I think people are becoming more accustomed to it.”
Hopefully, this new safety measure will incentivize business owners to change course — if they haven’t required proof of vaccination already.
Izzy Casey is a writer who covers pop culture, entertainment, and news for YourTango.