NEW YORK (AP) — More than 26,000 city workers remained unvaccinated by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 5 p.m. Friday deadline to show proof of at least one vaccine shot.
The municipal workforce mandate, which will be enforced Monday, led to a surge in vaccinations among the 160,000 city workers — including the NYPD, FDNY and DSNY — who were offered $500 to get their shot by the deadline.
“NYC employees are stepping up to keep themselves, their communities, and their city safe from #COVID19,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter Saturday. “29 City agencies have vaccination rates of 90% or more and we're seeing dramatic vaccination increases across uniformed agencies. This is how we move forward together.”
The last-minute rush of jabs boosted the vaccination rate to 83% among police officers, firefighters, garbage collectors and other city workers covered by the mandate as of 8 p.m. Friday, up from 76% a day earlier.
The fire department's rate rose 8% and the sanitation department saw an additional 10% of its staff get vaccinated Friday, according to city data. The fire and sanitation departments each have 23% of their staffs that still haven't been vaccinated.
The NYPD had a 5% jump in vaccinations Friday, leaving 16% of police personnel who had yet to get a dose.
Still, several agencies reported comparatively low vaccination rates. The lowest rates as of Friday night belonged to NYCHA, where 65% of workers were vaccinated, and the Department of Correction, where just 54% of staff was vaccinated.
And despite the vaccine rush, many civil servants have continued to protest the mandate across the five boroughs.
City officials have been weighing various contingencies to deal with an expected staffing shortfall come Monday.
The fire department said it was prepared to close up to 20% of its fire companies and have 20% fewer ambulances in service while also changing schedules, canceling vacations and turning to outside EMS providers to make up for expected staffing shortages.
De Blasio said the sanitation department will move to 12-hour shifts, as opposed to the usual 8-hour shifts, and begin working Sundays to ensure trash doesn't pile up.
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