Public school teachers, staff must get vaccine

NEW YORK>> All New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials said Monday, ramping up pandemic protections as the nation’s largest school system prepares for classes to start next month.

The city previously said teachers, like other city employees, would have to get the shots or get tested weekly for the virus. The new policy marks the first no-option vaccination mandate for a broad group of city workers in the nation’s most populous city, though Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday that coaches and students in football, basketball and other “high-risk” sports would have to get inoculated before play begins.

Unions bristled at the new requirement, saying the city needed to negotiate, not dictate. Two big city workers’ groups were planning to file a labor complaint or take legal action. About 148,000 school employees — and contractors who work in schools — will have to get at least a first dose by Sept. 27.