NYC School Staff 90% Vaccinated – And Counting – Amid Mandate

NEW YORK CITY — Nine in 10 New York City public school employees have received a dose of coronavirus — a good sign a looming vaccine mandate won't cause staff shortfalls, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

De Blasio unveiled the numbers Friday during appearances on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show."

Vaccination levels so far show 93 percent of teachers got at least one dose along with 98 percent of principals, de Blasio said.

“These are very strong numbers,” he said. “We already have what we need to run the school system well and serve our kids in a safe way. But I know these numbers are going to go up in the next 24 hours for sure.”

The mayor's comments came hours before a deadline for school staff to get a dose, or else get put on unpaid leave next week.

Many teachers, principals and union leaders — while they overwhelmingly backed vaccination — warned imposing a strict mandate without a testing option could leave schools critically short-staffed.

But it appeared a short delay in the mandate's start this week, a last-minute rush by educators to get vaccinated and a growing pool of substitutes will help cover the gap.

The number of unvaccinated staff could still very well in the thousands, de Blasio acknowledged.

“We have many more vaccinated, ready, willing and able substitutes than the number of people that we expect to be out,” de Blasio said.

Hospital workers, both public and private, also faced a vaccination deadline this week. De Blasio said at least 92 percent of city-run Health + Hospitals staff are vaccinated.

He predicted the mandates — which result in unpaid leave for unvaccinated school and health care workers — will convince holdouts to reconsider their choice.

“I think people are going to think better of it, come back, get their paycheck, get their vaccination, get their job back,” he said.