NYC Workforce Concerns Remain As COVID Vaccine Mandate Begins

NEW YORK CITY — Thousands of New York City municipal workers — including scores of first responders — appeared poised to lose paychecks before a COVID-19 vaccine mandate took effect.

About 33,000 city workers remained unvaccinated as Friday began, according to mayor's office data.

Those 21 percent of city workers affected by the mandate had until 5 p.m. to get their shots. A mayor's office spokesperson said the final number who actually did likely won't be known until Saturday — enforcement on the mandate will begin Monday.

Data did show that the percentage of vaccinated NYPD workers shot up from 70 percent to 79 percent in a week — a sign that Mayor Bill de Blasio's anticipated last-minute rush of vaccinations could be coming to fruition.

"Today and tomorrow, you're going to see a lot of movement," he said Thursday. "And then I'm not going to be shocked if you see movement even over the weekend when people get the formal notifications about their job status. We saw thousands upon thousands of vaccinations in the last days."

But while de Blasio and Commissioner Dermot Shea spoke confidently that they'd avert a crisis in the NYPD — as NBC reporter Andrew Siff reported from a last-minute joint appearance by the pair — another department with many first responders lagged behind.

Firefighters, according to the mayor's office, are 67 percent vaccinated — a number that potentially could mean a large portion of firehouses will be short-staffed, or worse.