Staff Reporter: About 1,500 employees lost their jobs in New York City because of refusal to accept the Covid-19 vaccine.
The deadline for receiving mandatory vaccine from the city authorities was last Friday. The city authorities sacked 1,430 employees for not taking Covid-19 vaccine by the due date. According to the New York City Authority.
Nevertheless, nearly 3,000 workers were at risk of termination on Friday over the rule, but many submitted their proof of vaccination or chose to get the shot after being notified of their imminent termination.
“Everything was put in place to make the right decision,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said ahead of last week’s deadline. “We don’t want to terminate anyone.”
The development is among the largest scale terminations carried out over a vaccine mandate, but the group accounts for less than 1% of New York City’s municipal workforce.
“City workers served on the front lines during the pandemic, and by getting vaccinated, they are, once again, showing how they are willing to do the right thing to protect themselves and all New Yorkers,” The Associated Press quoted Adams as saying. “Our goal was always to vaccinate, not terminate, and city workers stepped up and met the goal placed before them.”
Among the 1,430 workers terminated over the mandate, 64% worked for the city’s education department, according to The Associated Press.
Friday’s deadline was briefly put in question as a group of New York City teachers appealed to the Supreme Court. But the high court rejected the emergency request to block the mandate over what those in opposition claimed was a discriminatory religious exemption policy.
The terminations come as many of the Biden administration’s federal vaccination have stalled and as local governments grapple with how to proceed as the omicron variant’s surge declines. Meanwhile, talk of entering the “endemic” phase of virus has intensified as pressure to lift pandemic restrictions mounts, despite warnings from U.S. health officials that the moves are coming too soon.
Average daily deaths from COVID-19 remain elevated at over 2,200 each day, and coronavirus transmission is still at a “high” level in every state, according to CDC data.
“Hospitalizations are still high, our death rates are still high,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing last week when asked if the agency is working on new guidance for state leaders. “So, as we work towards that and as we are encouraged by the current trends, we are not there yet.”
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