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The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, reported on Monday that 6% of public employees have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, so they have been suspended from employment and pay, including police and firefighters, who have spoken out against the measure.
Friday was the deadline given by the mayor to all public employees to get at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under threat of losing their jobs.
According to de Blasio, 91 percent of public employees have complied with the vaccine requirement, with 3,564 having done so since Friday.
“We have approximately 9,000 employees on furlough and without pay, out of a total of almost 400,000,” the mayor indicated in his daily press conference. To this number should be added the other 12,000 civil servants who have requested a religious or medical exemption and are awaiting a response.
The Democrat, who is nearing the end of his second and last four-year term, said that since he ordered the inoculation of city employees on October 20, 22,472 new employees have been vaccinated.
He also indicated that 84% of the employees in the police force are vaccinated compared to 70% when he issued the order, while among firefighters the figure is 77%, up from 58% last October 20.
While among janitors, those who have met the requirement to keep their jobs increased from 62 percent to 83 percent.
In this way, the mayor has succeeded with his threats to subject thousands of public employees to the vaccination process, against their personal will, and those who decided to stand up against the mandatory vaccination requirements have lost income for their families.
