BREAKING: NYC Mayor to Require All Public Employees to be Vaccinated against COVID-19, No Option for Testing

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Bill de Blasio
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce Wednesday that all city workers will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or face losing their jobs, with no option to opt-out in favor of regular testing. A previous mandate handed down by Bill de Blasio covered all NYC school and healthcare workers. File photo: CJ Hanevy, Shutter Stock, licensed.

MANHATTAN, NY – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is slated to announce on Wednesday that all city workers will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or face losing their jobs, with no option to opt-out in favor of regular testing.

All NYC public employees will have until October 29 to receive their first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine; currently, of the city’s 160,500 workers, 71 percent are either partially or fully vaccinated, with 70 percent of police and 60 percent of fire department members reportedly having received at least their first shot.

This leaves approximately 46,000 completely unvaccinated individuals remaining who are being mandated to take the jab or possibly lose their job. This who do not comply with the mandate will be placed on unpaid leave until the De Blasio Administration negotiates with city labor unions in regards to additional disciplinary actions.

Due to serious staffing issues at the Rikers Island jail complex, the city’s approximately 8,000 correction officers will be afforded an extended deadline of December 1 to receive their first jab.

“City workers have been a daily inspiration,” De Blasio was quoted as saying. “Now is the time for them to show their city the path out of this pandemic once and for all.”

City workers are not being given the option to be tested for COVID at regular intervals in order to forgo being inoculated; however, they will have the option to apply for exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

A previous mandate handed down by Bill de Blasio covered all NYC school and healthcare workers.

Many states have issued similar vaccination mandates for public employees and healthcare workers, whereas other states – such as Texas and Florida – have outright banned them; Florida recently issued its first-ever fine for a violation of its vaccination mandate ban, forcing a $3.57 million penalty on Leon County after they required their employees to take the jab.

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