CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- More Chicago Police Department employees have recorded their vaccination status on the city’s online portal, but some are still unvaccinated, according to figures released by the city Monday.
According to figures the city released Monday, more than 89 percent of all city workers have reported their COVID-19 vaccination status, and that of those, 81 percent are fully vaccinated.
As for Chicago Police Department employees, which are being encouraged by their union not to report their vaccination status, the city said nearly 78 percent have reported whether or not they’re vaccinated. That number is up more than 4 percentage points from last week; but the department remains the only agency to not be at least 80 percent in compliance.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said some officers who had originally held back their information have given in.
"We took ‘em to headquarters, processed them back. They were coming up on three weeks plus and their health coverage was being jeopardized," he said.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said there are 35 police officers on a no-pay status for failing to comply with the city mandate to disclose whether they’ve been vaccinated. As many as 50 officers were placed on a no-pay status when the mandate went into effect last month.
“This means officers who were in no-pay status have come back and complied with the mandate,” Brown said during a news conference Monday.
The vaccination rate among CPD employees has steadily declined as more workers report their status. The department’s vaccination rate was 77.6 percent as of Monday, down from 83.8 percent on Oct. 18.
Brown said a decline was expected as more employees comply with the mandate, but the department is working to encourage officers to get vaccinated. The police department’s 12,835 employees make it the largest city employer.
According to the city, the Chicago City Council is the only other department that does not have at least 90 percent of its employees report their vaccination status. The City Council is at 85.6 percent compliance.
The Chicago Fire Department’s response rate to the portal jumped from 88.6 percent last week to 92.6 percent. The CFD’s vaccination rate also fell slightly from 77.9 percent last week to 76.7 percent on Monday.
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(WBBM Newsradio and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this copy.)