A key COVID-19 vaccination deadline has expired, and a new mandate is in effect in San Francisco.
People who work in high-risk situations in the city, mainly considered first responders, need to be vaccinated by this week or else they face restrictions largely preventing them from interacting with the public.
Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics are all impacted by the new order.
"They are not being fired or laid off, but will be assigned some sort of desk duty," KCBS Radio's Matt Bigler said on Thursday's "Bay Current," adding this is most likely protection for union workers.
"It's not going to be a punishment," Bigler added. "They will just have to do something that doesn't bring them in contact with the public."
In response to the deadline, the San Francisco Police Officers Association released a statement early Thursday alleging that the mandate would result in unvaccinated officers being terminated, even though the law never explicitly rules that. When reached for comment by KCBS Radio, San Francisco police officials said they planned to comment later on Thursday.
Recent data showed that the numbers of unvaccinated cops has been decreasing, suggesting that the new requirement is working.
While the city isn't threatening to fire police officers, San Francisco Muni workers are facing the possibility of losing their jobs under the new mandate if they are not vaccinated. Muni's vaccination deadline is Nov. 1st.
"They haven't brought down the hammer on anyone, but these are the consequences for not getting vaccinated for Muni employees," Bigler said.
Muni is currently working on a plan to support their system if workers resign.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, nearly 600 Muni employees remain unvaccinated.
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