New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio doubled down on his proposed vaccine mandate for indoor activities on Thursday saying he was encouraged that the Biden administration had endorsed it hours after he announced it.

While there has been little push back since de Blasio has not offered any specifics yet on his plan, Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa did blast the proposal at a City Hall rally, “Today we stand in unity against these mandates, against these crackdowns. We are not France. We are not Italy. We are America where we are free.”

Sliwa, who is vaccinated, urged the city to continue its outreach without punishing those who may not be able to get the jab.

“You assuage them, you encourage them, but we have to consider all people and not have the crushing boot of government on everyone’s necks,” he said.

“We’re not talking about an anti-vaxxer movement here, we’re not anti-vaxxers. We’re pragmatic, we’re common sense,” he added.

Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams supports de Blasio’s mandate saying at a rally in Queens, “I think the mayor’s going in the right direction.”

Ironically it is the traditional Democratic neighborhoods where the vaccine rate is the lowest. Poorer communities of color have vaccination rates that are half of the overall rate of 75 percent.

I have said in the past that a vaccine mandate should be used for any person receiving government benefits, which would help those hit hardest early on by the pandemic.

I also believe these neighborhoods are so low on the vaccine rate list because both de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo initially demonized the jab because former President Trump brought it to market.

Like others I will reserve judgment on de Blasio’s mandate until I see some details, but I don’t like the idea of having to produce paperwork to go to the movies or out to dinner.