Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti defended a vaccine mandate for city workers in an interview on Monday.
The mayor confirmed more than 75% of city agency employees, including police officers and firefighters, have complied with the order, and estimated that the protocol may have saved tens of thousands of lives.
“I as mayor will never apologize for saving lives,” he told ABC 7.
The mandate has sparked some pushback. Last month, a group of Los Angeles Police Department employees sued the city, claiming vaccination requirements created a “hostile work environment” for the unvaccinated and violated their privacy and civil rights.
City employees have until Dec.18 to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk forfeiting their jobs. Garcetti said Monday he would rather have employees comply with the order than have to terminate them.
“My goal is not to lose a single employee but to have everybody vaccinated and have everybody employed,” he said.
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