Studio E School of Dance in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens in New York City is losing students. A city-wide policy that went into effect on Dec. 14 bars children ages 5 and up from attending certain extracurricular activities unless they’ve received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Because the majority of Studio E’s students are preschool and elementary school kids, it is particularly vulnerable to parents’ decisions to forgo activities rather than get their children vaccinated.
“I’ve just been stressed out about how this will affect the business,” says studio director Nicole Siegel-Toruno, whose family has owned the business for 15 years. “We are pushing people to take virtual classes, but people are dropping out and it is affecting our businesses.”
