New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) delivered “great news” during Wednesday’s press conference, announcing that thousands of city employees who were placed on unpaid leave due to the coronavirus vaccine mandate have succumbed to government coercion and got the jab.

According to the Democrat mayor, vaccination rates have risen significantly since the announcement of the city worker mandate. Eighty-six percent of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), for example, is vaccinated, up from 70 percent at the announcement of the mandates. Similarly, the Department of Sanitation New York (DSNY) and New York City Fire Department (FDNY) are also reporting an increase in vaccinations since the announcement.

As of November 1, after the mandate went into effect, 9,000 employees were placed on leave without pay. However, that number now sits at 2,600, representing less than one percent of all city employees, per the mayor.

Firefighters watch as their fire engine enters the FDNY Engine 281/Ladder 147 station on October 29, 2021 in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“I want to thank again all our public servants who made the decision to get vaccinated. I want to welcome those who have not yet made that decision to do so. We need you. Let’s move forward together,” de Blasio said.

“So obviously, a lot of employees upon recognizing the opportunity to keep serving the public, keep getting paid, keep their families safe, keep their colleagues safe, keep the people they serve safe,” he continued.

“They made the decision to come in and get vaccinated. So 2,600 employees on leave without pay from this current mandate. [A] very, very small piece of our public work force,”  he added.

De Blasio said there are currently 12,400 employees seeking exemptions from the mandate. However, de Blasio once again warned that many of those will be denied.

“Look what we know from past practice … some of those will be approved, a good number will not be,” he said. “Then people will have the choice of course, get vaccinated, come back to work, and I do expect most people are going to take that choice based on everything we’re seeing here.”

“Most people will ultimately make the decision to get vaccinated and we welcome that. This is further proof of why this city is the safest place to be in America right now,” he declared, echoing the sentiments expressed in Tuesday’s press conference, where he called New York City the “safest place to be” in the United States.

Last month, de Blasio said he prefers to “respect people’s intelligence” before forcing them to get vaccinated, essentially suggesting those who are refusing to do so are making a foolish error.