Crowd Protests NYC School COVID Vaccine Mandate: Reports

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio took a victory lap Monday morning as a strict coronavirus vaccine mandate took effect for educators.

But Hizzoner's crowing about the rule's success — 95 percent of school staff vaccinated, 43,000 who received shots since the mandate was announced and 18,000 doses in the last week alone — was met by protesters supporting the fraction of teachers who opted to remain unvaccinated, despite scientific evidence that the shot is safe and effective.

A large protest centered around the Department of Education's building in Brooklyn, according to multiple Twitter reports and videos.

The crowd appeared large, but a Department of Education spokesperson was quick to portray them as a distinct, if loud, minority of teachers.

"I hope 95% of the coverage is focused on the 95% who put kids front and center," Nicholas Steyer, the spokesperson, tweeted.

At least 95 percent of public school teachers in the city are now vaccinated, according to numbers released Monday by de Blasio.

About 43,000 of school staff in general received shots since the mandate was announced in late August, de Blasio said — meaning scores of previously unvaccinated education workers walked into classrooms across New York City on Monday with protection against the coronavirus.

The remaining 5 percent of teachers — or roughly 3,900 out of 78,000 educators citywide — who refused to get vaccinated spent the day on the sidelines.