NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Over 90% of New York City municipal workers are now vaccinated as the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate takes effect Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
“We have real results from this mandate, and as of today 91% of our city workforce is vaccinated, 91% and growing,” de Blasio said at his daily briefing from City Hall.
De Blasio said that since the mandate was announced on Oct. 20, there have been at least 22,472 newly reported vaccinations, with at least 3,564 over the past weekend.
Workers who didn't get vaccinated before Friday's 5 p.m. deadline were to be put on unpaid leave starting Monday.
The mayor said that as of Monday there are 9,000 city employees on leave without pay out of a city workforce of 378,000. That’s less than 6% of the entire workforce, he said.
“Now again, every one of those 9,000 is welcome to come back,” de Blasio said, urging the city workers to “get vaccinated.”
About 12,000 workers have applied for a medical or religious exemption. Their cases are being worked on over the coming days, when it will be determined if they’ll get the exemption they requested.
“We have very strong numbers among our workforce,” de Blasio said, adding that “contingency plans are there” and “we’re not seeing any disruption to city services.”
The mayor said no firehouses are closed and that response times are normal for FDNY firefighters and EMS.
The FDNYs vaccination rate for firefighters is up to 77% from 58% when the mandate was announced, while the rate for EMS is up to 88% from 61%.
The NYPD’s vaccination rate is up to 85% from 70%.
The Department of Sanitation’s rate is up to 83% from 62%.
Related
