(TJVNEWS) NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday morning that all city workers will either need to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated by the time public schools reopen or consent to weekly tests, expanding a mandate adopted last week that required all health workers to be vaccinated. It’s the latest attempt by the mayor to bolster vaccination rates as the city faces a third wave of coronavirus infections largely driven by the Delta variant.
The edict will apply to roughly 340K city workers, including teachers and officers with the NYPD. The deadline for compliance is Sept. 13, when about 1MM students are set to return to classrooms full-time with the new school year. Mayor de Blasio clearly sees a successful resumption of in-person education as critical to his legacy (his second and final term in office will conclude later this year), NY Post reported.
Speaking at a news conference Monday morning, Mayor de Blasio reiterated his call to private employers to set similar, or perhaps even more comprehensive, vaccine mandates for their workers in keeping with federal policy guidelines granting employers the “green light” to pressure workers into getting vaccinated.
“September is the pivot point of the recovery,” de Blasio said, “and so on Sept. 13, the first day of school, every single city employee will be expected to be either vaccinated or be tested weekly.”
On Aug. 16, 45K city employees who work in congregate or residential settings, like homeless shelters and senior centers, will be required to do the same. Then on Sept. 13, the measure will take effect for the rest of the city’s workforce.
