New York City’s COVID vaccine mandate will now apply to municipal workers, including firefighters and police.
The mandate is not without its perks. City employees, about 160,500 of them, will reportedly receive a $500 bonus if they get the first jab at a city-organized vaccination site.
“It’s a mandate now for all city agencies, all city workers. It’s time for everyone to get vaccinated,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. “Our public employees are going to lead us out of the COVID era.”
The program begins Wednesday and ends Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.
“We did the vaccinate-or-test option, but it hasn’t gotten us where we need to go,” de Blasio said. “Ninety-six percent of our education employees did it, 96% of our healthcare employees did it. It’s time for everyone else.”
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Employees who opt out of the vaccination can go on unpaid leave, the mayor added.
“They can correct and come back,” he said. “We’re going to work with your union to figure out what happens next … But the bottom line is we’re not going to pay people unless they’re vaccinated.”
