NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The vaccine mandate for those working in New York City’s public schools can go forward, a reversal of a decision that temporarily paused the beginning of its enforcement.
The mandate will now take hold next Monday, Oct. 4, and that DOE employees will have until Friday at 5 p.m. to get the shot, Mayor Bill de Blasio said during an NY1 appearance.
The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a brief order late in the day that lifted a block of the mandate that a single appeals judge had put in place on Friday.
After an adverse ruling from a Brooklyn judge, a group of teachers had brought the case to the appeals court, which assigned a three-judge panel to hear oral arguments Wednesday. But the appeals panel issued its order Monday after written arguments were submitted by both sides.
The mandate would have required all public school teachers and staff to have received at least one vaccine dose by Monday night.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that around 97% of principals and about 95% of teachers had been vaccinated. But the number for non-teachers was down around 87%.
The ruling that blocked the mandate came for one of two ongoing lawsuits involving the city's coronavirus vaccine mandate for DOE teachers and staff. One suit was brought by a group of teachers and another was brought by the teachers' union, the UFT.
Late last week, union officials clamored for a longer wait on the vaccine mandate.
Michael Mulgrew, the president of the UFT, said Monday night that depsite city data showing high vaccine rates, teachers are concerned that a mandate will disrupt schooling.
"[A]ccording to our recent survey of UFT chapter leaders, only about one-third believe that as of now their schools can open without disruption, given the potential shortage of unvaccinated personnel, including school aides and security personnel," Mulgrew said in a statement.
"The city has a lot of work before it to ensure that enough vaccinated staff will be available by the new deadline," he added.
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Mark Cannizzaro cast doubt last Thursday on whether New York City had enough substitutes when the mandate goes into place.
But Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter felt confident the department would be in a good place in terms of the number of employees in their schools, saying they hired over 5,000 new teachers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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