All Public NYC Workers Face COVID Vaccine Mandate: Mayor

NEW YORK CITY — All New York City municipal workers must get a coronavirus vaccine by Oct. 29 or else be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

“My goal is end the COVID era once and for all,” he said Wednesday.

The vaccine mandate is an effort to get the remaining 46,000 unvaccinated city workers — large swaths of whom are NYPD and FDNY — to get their shots and protect the public, de Blasio said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"Our police officers, our EMTs, our firefighters, all our public employees, a lot of whom come in very close contact with their fellow New Yorkers, they need to be safe, their families need to be safe, but we also need to reassure all New Yorkers that if you're working with a public employee, they're vaccinated, everyone's going to be safe," de Blasio said.

.@NYCMayor announces vaccine mandate for New York City workers.

Read more: pic.twitter.com/EoScxvAXd9
— City of New York (@nycgov) October 20, 2021

Workers who get their shots at city-run vaccination sites will get a $500 bonus until the mandate takes effect Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.

De Blasio framed the bonus as a measure of appreciation for what city workers have done to help through the pandemic.

“This is out of respect for the people who have done so much for us,” he said.

The mandate includes correction officers, but they won't have to get shots until Dec. 1 as city officials work to address a staffing crisis at Rikers Island, de Blasio said.

De Blasio for weeks hinted that a wide vaccination mandate for municipal workers could be imminent, especially after the city prevailed in court battles over similar rules for educators and health care workers.

Vaccination rates among city departments have been all over the map. The two with mandates — the Department of Education and Health + Hospitals — have 96 percent and 95 percent vaccination rates, respectively, officials said.

But NYPD's and FDNY's vaccination rates as of last week stood at 69 percent and 59 percent, respectively, according to the mayor's office.

Department of Correction has the lowest rate at 50 percent, data shows.

The announcement drew a quick response from Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch.

"Now that the city has moved to unilaterally impose a mandate, we will proceed with legal action to protect our members’ rights," Lynch said in a statement.

But other city leaders just as quickly endorsed the mandate.

Council Member Mark Levine called it a "bold policy" that will help protect the city.

“With the weather getting colder, there is a real risk that cases can start increasing again,” he said. “So, we have to do more, we still do have about a million people in the city who are eligible for vaccination who haven’t yet taken that life-saving step.”

"This is a big deal," Council Member Stephen Levin tweeted. "We know now, with incontrovertible evidence and data, that vaccine mandates work. It’s time that all NYC employees be vaxxed so we can get this city fully up and running."

This is a big deal. We know now, with incontrovertible evidence and data, that vaccine mandates work. It’s time that all NYC employees be vaxxed so we can get this city fully up and running. Leadership from @NYCMayor & his team. https://t.co/1MptbdFteh
— (((Stephen Levin))) 🟣 (@StephenLevin33) October 20, 2021

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.