A mandatory vaccine against COVID-19 is being introduced in New York for public sector employees by the end of next week or will be sent on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said today.
Until now, vaccination has been mandatory for teachers and doctors, but the list now also includes police officers, firefighters and cleaning staff.
They will receive $ 500 each for the first dose, which they will be able to place at a city center organized by the city until 5:00 pm local time on Friday, October 29. After that date, employees will be required to be injected with at least one dose of vaccine and show proof to their supervisor, De Blasio said in a statement.
“There is no greater privilege than serving the people of New York, and that privilege is accompanied by a responsibility to protect yourself and your community,” the mayor said.
This policy is beginning to be implemented in the city with the largest population in the United States, while many other municipalities, school districts and local authorities in the country are struggling with the requirement to wear masks and vaccinations amid declining new cases.
71% of all 160,000 employees in New York have already been injected with at least one dose of vaccine, the mayor said.
Employees of the Department of Education and the New York Department of Health and Hospitals have been required to be vaccinated since September. At least 95 percent of those vaccinated in those wards said de Blasio.
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