NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Bill de Blasio called out a Brooklyn preacher for writing vaccine “exemptions” and warned such letters would not be honored.
Rev. Kevin McCall, of the Anointed by God Ministry, told the Daily News that he was liberally writing religious exemption passes for his congregation and outsiders — and even promoted the passes in exchange for donations.
“I know Reverend McCall, I respect him. I appreciate him. I was very saddened to see that,” de Blasio said during a Tuesday briefing. “I think that's a mistake. I think it should stop. Those, quote unquote, exemptions are not going to be honored. They're just, that's not the way to do things.”
McCall told the News that more than half of his congregation was interested in the opt-out letters and that public workers like teachers, transit employees and cops, among others, were reaching out for the exemptions as well.
De Blasio stressed the importance to get vaccinated and pointed to religious leaders in the city who have endorsed the shots, like Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Rev. A.R. Bernard and Rabbi Potasnik.
This summer, the New York Archdiocese issued a memo to priests urging against exemptions, writing that "there is no basis for a priest to issue a religious exemption," according to the National Catholic Reporter.
“I think people should recognize it’s so important to get vaccinated,” de Blasio added. “Leaders of veritably, every faith tradition have stepped forward, encouraged vaccination.”
Mitchell Katz, the president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, said he hasn’t seen any such letters yet — but that religious exemptions couldn’t be issued by someone else.
“I just want to make sure everyone understands that no one can grant you a religious exemption,” Katz said at the news conference. “Religious exemptions are based on someone's personal, sincerely held beliefs. They're not based – no one can give you an exemption.”
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