Albany barbershop requiring masks, vaccination for all customers

ALBANY – Ever since the FDA granted full approval to Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, business owners across the country have been urged to require their employees and even customers be vaccinated.

A local barbershop is doing just that, and a little more.

If the Center Square Barber Shop looks familiar, it’s probably because owner Dan Woycik helped lead the charge to make hairstylists eligible for COVID vaccines when they were first available.

He is still passionate about doing his part to fight COVID, and that’s why now anyone who walks through his door must be vaccinated.

"It’s not that we’re trying to make a political statement. It’s not that we’re just being hardliners about it," said Woycik. "We’re just trying to protect people."

When the Pfizer vaccine received full approval, Woycik made it mandatory in his shop. He says the delta variant has been pretty active in the Lark Street area, and his biggest concern is having a vaccinated person who is infected and asymptomatic pass it on to someone who’s unprotected.

See how customers are reacting to the policy by watching the video of Jerry Gretzinger’s story.