San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
NYC braces for disruptions as vaccine deadline passes
Mounting trash. Closed firehouses. Fewer police and ambulances on the street.
That’s the possibility New York City is bracing for come Monday as a COVID-19 vaccine mandate looms and thousands of municipal workers remain unwilling to get the shots.
Police officers, firefighters, garbage collectors and most other city workers faced a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to show proof they’ve gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Workers who don’t comply will be put on unpaid leave starting Monday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio held firm on the mandate even as tempers flared on Friday with six firefighters relieved of duty and facing suspension for taking a fire truck to a lawmaker’s office and threatening his staff over the vaccine mandate.
The incident was a dramatic escalation after firefighters and other workers rallied Thursday outside de Blasio’s official residence, sanitation workers appeared to be skipping garbage pick ups in protest and the city’s largest police union went to an appeals court seeking a halt to the vaccine requirement.
De Blasio said the city has contingencies to maintain adequate staffing and public safety, including mandatory overtime and extra shifts — tools that he said were typically used “in times of challenging crisis.” More than 26,000 New York City municipal workers remained unvaccinated after Friday’s deadline, the city said Saturday.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, who had COVID-19 in January, said his department was sending reminders to workers whose records indicated they hadn’t yet received a shot and that NYPD vaccination sites will remain open all weekend. Shea said thousands of officers who’ve applied for medical and religious exemptions will be allowed to work while their cases are reviewed. offer a religious exemption to hospital and nursing home workers who risk losing their jobs if they are not vaccinated.
The legal team that sued to stop the mandate vowed to return to the Supreme Court to press for a full review on the merits. “This case is far from over,” said Mat Staver, founder and chair of the Liberty Counsel.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she was gratified that the mandate was upheld, saying it’s imperative for hospitals to “take every precaution to protect their workers and patients against this deadly virus.”