New York City’s firefighters are near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to complying with the COVID-19 vaccination mandate [1] taking effect on Monday, Nov. 1.
The latest COVID-19 vaccination rates by city agency, as of 8 p.m. Oct. 30, had just 72% of FDNY firefighters having received at least the first dose of the life-saving shot, according to statistics that the Mayor’s office released Saturday afternoon.
That’s a 5% increase in 24 hours time, and a day after hundreds of vaccine-refusing firefighters and mandate opponents protested outside Gracie Mansion. [2]
Still, only the New York City Housing Authority (66%) and the Corrections Department (54%) have lower vaccination rates (the Corrections Department vaccination mandate was pushed back until December while the agency works to correct conditions on Rikers Island).
Meanwhile, 84% of the FDNY’s EMS service members are now vaccinated, an increase of 7% in the past day.
The NYPD has made similar progress in getting its rank-and-file vaccinated in recent days, getting closer to the 90% mark. The city reported Saturday that 84% of the entire department, including civilians and officers, had received at least the first dose, up 5% in 24 hours.
By far, the biggest progress came within the Sanitation Department, which had been close to dead last in the vaccination effort. As of 8 p.m. Oct. 30, 77% of the entire agency had received at least the first dose, a 10% jump in just a day.
Some 26,600 unvaccinated municipal employees are at risk of being sent home without pay come Monday morning if they have not provided proof that they received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Their unpaid leave of absence will remain in effect until they comply with the mandate.
Any municipal employee vaccinated between now and Monday will be able to work, but they have lost out on the $500 bonus that the city offered to all its unvaccinated workers to get the shot before 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29.
Approximately 29 city agencies now have vaccination rates of 90% or higher, including the Department of Education and NYC Health + Hospitals (which mandated vaccinations in September), as well as the Departments of City Planning, Housing Preservation and Development, Emergency Management, Aging, Design and Construction, Investigation, and Buildings.
Fears of worker shortages at various agencies as a result of noncompliant employees being sent home have arisen in recent days, but Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated that the city would be able to manage any shortfall [3].
[1] https://www.amny.com/news/nypd-fdny-remain-on-lower-end-of-vaccination-rates-as-clock-counts-down-on-mandate/
[2] https://www.amny.com/city-living/fired-up-over-vaccine-mandates/
[3] https://www.amny.com/news/de-blasio-not-worried-about-nyc-staff-shortages-as-vaccine-mandate-takes-effect-friday/
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