New York City's vaccine mandate for cops, firefighters and city workers takes hold today, forcing up to 10,000 vital emergency workers...
New York City's vaccine mandate for cops, firefighters and city workers takes hold today, forcing up to 10,000 vital emergency workers into unpaid leave and creating a daunting reality for a city that is already battling escalating crime and violence.
As of Monday morning, 9,000 city workers had chosen not to get the shot and lose their pay as a result.
They include 5,500 NYPD cops, 2,518 firefighters, 794 EMTs and 1,649 Department of Sanitation workers.
Two thousand firefighters have called out sick to cling on to their paychecks for as long as they can before the city's mandate forces them on unpaid leave along with an army of cops and EMTS. It's unclear how long they will be able to claim sick pay for but the shortages are already presenting themselves in the city's firehouses.
Twenty six fire stations were down this weekend - around 10 percent of the city's total - due to a lack of staffing and on Monday morning, the President of the FDNY's biggest union warned that 'dozens' more would close today.
Two thousand firefighters have called out sick over the last week, which allows them to claim pay before being forced on unpaid leave if they refuse to get the vaccine.
Of the FDNY's 17,000 total workers, a terrifying 20% - more than 3,000 - remain unvaccinated so will not be allowed to work next week.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro lambasted those who had called out sick, saying in a statement over the weekend: 'Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow Firefighters. They need to return to work or risk the consequences of their actions.'
The firefighters and cops say they were not given enough time to make 'life and career changing decision'.
De Blasio told them on October 20 that they would lose pay starting November 1. FDNY union bosses on Monday morning said that some firefighters had chosen to retire early rather than be forced into getting the shot.
Firefighter uniforms at the station house of Fire Engine 1 on October 29, 2021 in New York City. Over the weekend, 26 fire stations were closed due to a lack of staffing that bosses say will only get worse now that the mandate has hit, leading to increased 911 wait times and a potentially fatal aftermath for New Yorkers
24,000 city workers will not be at work on Monday. They include those working in essential roles such as the NYPD and Fire Department along with EMT's
The fire department said Sunday on afternoon that 80% of its employees were vaccinated - 75% of firefighters, 87% of EMTS and 90% of civilian employees
De Blasio announced in a tweet that 2,300 more workers got the shot meaning 91 percent of city workers are now vaccinated
Hundreds of city workers protest the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at a rally outside Gracie Mansion in New York last week
'This is the moment we've been waiting for. We're not clear how many fire companies will be closed today, we expect dozens. We're here today because of a mandate that was put on members with nine days to make a life changing decision,' Uniformed Firefighters Association’s Andrew Ansbro said at a press conference on Monday morning.
As of Monday morning 91% of the city's 325,000 employees were vaccinated, leaving around 29,000 who aren't.
Among them are 5,500 NYPD officers, 3,560 firefighters and EMTs, and 1,620 workers from the Department of Sanitation, whose absence on the city's increasingly violent streets will be felt most sorely.
There are growing fears over how those shortages will play out in 911 response times, officer man-power, EMT and ambulance capabilities and street cleaning.
On Friday, five police unions signed a sweeping call for de Blasio to quickly implement emergency measures to try to fill the shortages and offset potential chaos.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Congress member for the borough's of Brooklyn and Staten Island said accused the Mayor's Office of misleading the public by saying that no 'firehouses' were closed while failing to add that 'many are operating at half capacity due to offline companies.'
'With less than 48 hours until Mayor de Blasio's arbitrary vaccination deadline for city workers - and following a state judge's refusal to pause the deadline despite the mandate's chaotic rollout - police union leaders are warning New Yorkers that the NYPD brass is completely unprepared for the staffing shortage that will result from the mandate's haphazard implementation,' the joint letter said.
Pat Lynch, President of the Police Benevolent Association in New York City, said: 'NYC cannot afford to have a police department that is weak, disorganized and totally dominated by the irrational whims of City Hall. Unfortunately that's what the NYPD has become.
'Now cops and New Yorkers are all wondering: what exactly will happen when the vaccine deadline strikes?'
On Sunday, he claimed the number of workers who have yet to show proof of vaccination is inflated because their exemption requests are still being processed.
'The vast majority of City workers, 91%, stepped up to put the health and safety of their city first and got vaccinated,' de Blasio tweeted.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Congress member for the borough's of Brooklyn and Staten Island said accused the Mayor's Office of misleading the public by saying that no 'firehouses' were closed while failing to add that 'many are operating at half capacity due to offline companies.'
New York City issues call for firefighters from Long Island and Upstate New York as close to one-third of FDNY staff remain unvaccinated ahead of November 1 deadline
The Fire Department said fire companies — groups of firefighters composed of specialized teams — open and close regularly but might face more closures than usual. The FDNY was prepared to shut down 20 percent of them while deploying private emergency medical response services to help out
James McCarthy, President of the FDNY-Uniformed Fire Officers Association,speaks to hundreds of city workers at a rally protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandate outside Gracie Mansion in New York last week
Thousands of city workers, mostly firefighters, gathered outside Gracie Mansion as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine mandate looms just one day ahead of the deadline
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro denied reports that some firehouses had been closed due to shortages.
'The department has not closed any firehouses,' Nigro said in a statement Sunday morning.
'Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters. They need to return to work or risk the consequences of their actions.'
De Blasio announced in a tweet that 2,300 more workers got the shot meaning 91 percent of city workers are now vaccinated
Those NYPD employees who remain unvaccinated are to be allowed to remain working but only if they apply for medical or religious exemptions, each of which would be reviewed by the NYPD Equal Employment Opportunity Division.
City officials have been weighing various contingencies to deal with an expected staffing shortfall come Monday.
The fire department has said it was prepared to close up to 20% of its fire companies and have 20% fewer ambulances in service while also changing schedules, canceling vacations and turning to outside EMS providers to make up for expected staffing shortages.
On Sunday, a message was sent through email as nearly 350 potential volunteer firefighters were tagged.
'Good morning all,' the email read. 'We need to start identifying members of the service who are active volunteer firemen in both Long Island and Upstate counties in anticipation of the impending shortage for the FDNY due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
'On a voluntary only basis operations is looking to have qualified members on standby to backfill firehouses if necessary.
Hundreds of New York City's firefighters protested De Blasio's vaccine mandate on Friday by taking sick leave
Firefighters rallied outside Mayor Bill de Blasio's residence Gracie Mansion on Thursday to protest his Covid-19 vaccine mandate for all city workers
De Blasio said the sanitation department will move to 12-hour shifts, as opposed to the usual 8-hour shifts, and begin working Sundays to ensure trash doesn't pile up.
Vaccination rates for the city's fire and sanitation departments jumped significantly on Friday as workers rushed to meet the deadline for the mandate and an extra incentive: Workers who got a shot by Friday will receive $500.
Last week, hundreds of city workers took to the streets to protest. A rally was held outsider of the mayor's official residence at Gracie Mansion.
In protest of the mandate hundreds of New York City firefighters took sick leave on Friday instead of complying with De Blasio's deadline for all city workers to be vaccinated or be placed on unpaid leave.
Announcing the mandate, Mayor de Blasio issued an ultimatum requiring workers to get at least one COVID shot by 9am Monday morning or be furloughed and be sent home.
Meanwhile, nationwide Covid-related infections and fatalities in the US have dropped to the lowest levels recorded since April 2021.
About 191million Americans have been fully vaccinated - nearly 58 percent of the population
On September 1 America was averaging 49.9 cases per 100,000 but as of Wednesday, this figure has dropped to 21.2 cases per 100,000.
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