New York City: 9,000 public workers put on unpaid leave for refusing Covid vaccine

[PoliticAverse]

About 9,000 New York City municipal workers were put on unpaid leave for refusing to comply with a Covid-19 vaccine mandate that took effect on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, adding that thousands of firefighters had called out sick in apparent protest.

Firehouses remained open but 18 of 350 units were out of service and “many units are understaffed”, Daniel Nigro, the fire commissioner, said.

Officials have been battling fierce resistance among a minority of workers in some critical public safety jobs, including police officers and firefighters, with a pending legal challenge to the mandate from the largest police union.

As of Sunday, one in four of uniformed New York firefighters had not had a first dose of the vaccine, as required. About one in six police personnel and one in six sanitation workers were still unvaccinated.

Read the rest at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/01/new-york-city-vaccine-mandate-protest-firefighters