NYC's Vaccine Mandate Begins: 22,000 City Workers Remain Unvaccinated

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) vaccine mandate for all New York City municipal workers went into effect Monday as approximately 22,000 city workers remain unvaccinated, according to reports.

As of the morning of November 1, ABC 7  reported that 22,000 city workers in the Big Apple remain unvaccinated, while more than half of unvaccinated municipal workers have applied for exemptions, according to the outlet.

In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press secretary, Danielle Filson, said 91 percent of city workers had “gotten the shot,” according to the New York Times.

Those who applied for a religious or medical exemption can continue working and will undergo weekly testing while their applications are processed over the coming weeks, according to ABC 7.

City workers who remain unvaccinated and have not received or submitted a request for a medical or religious exemption will be placed on unpaid leave, according to the New York Times.

As of Monday, 9,000 city workers will be placed on unpaid leave, Filson said, per ABC 7. She added that the number accounts for six percent of the city’s workforce.

“Mandates work,” Filson said according to ABC 7. “That number will continue to decrease. The remaining have pending accommodations/exemption requests. They are working and subject to weekly testing.”

Eighty-four percent of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has received at least one dose of a vaccine according to the New York Times. The NYPD is comprised of 36,000 officers and 19,000 civilian workers, according to the outlet.

Of those working in the NYPD, 6,500 applied for religious exemptions and can continue working for the time being, while 2,500 employees in the department are expected to be placed on sick leave, according to ABC 7.

Regarding the sanitation department, 82 percent of employees have received a shot, ABC 7 reports.

According to the Times, many sanitation workers have been told to plan to come in on Sundays, and workers will have to pull 12-hour shifts.

ABC 7 reports that 80 percent of New York Fire Department (FDNY) employees have met Monday’s requirement of having at least one dose of the vaccine. Seventy-five percent of firefighters have met the requirement, and 87 percent of medics and EMTs in the FDNY have satisfied the obligation.

The New York Times reports that of the city’s 11,000 firefighters, upwards of 2,000 have taken sick days over the past week. FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro referred to the absences as “bogus sick leave.”

“Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters,” said Nigro in a statement Saturday, according to Yahoo. “They need to return to work or risk the consequences of their actions.”

“The excessive sick leave … because of their anger at the vaccine mandate for all city employees is unacceptable, contrary to their oaths to serve & may endanger the lives of New Yorkers,” Nigro said, according to a tweet from writer Ginger Adams Otis, which Breitbart News cited.

President of the Uniformed Firefighter Association, Andrew Ansbro, stated there was no organized protest, according to the Times.

“We would never advocate for a firehouse to be closed or for members not to work overtime,” Ansbro stated, according to ABC 7. “We need everyone we can to keep this city running and keep it safe. We’re trying to avoid what is going to be an inevitable disaster.”

Ansbro stated that hundreds of firefighters had recently received their first shot and were grappling with side effects from the vaccine. 

“Hundreds of guys are feeling flulike symptoms because that’s what the shot does to people,” he stated, the Times reported.