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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that New York City will require all its municipal staff-including teachers and police-to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or receive COVID every week by mid-September. -19 Detection.
The rule is expected to affect approximately 340,000 city employees, making the city one of the largest employers in the United States to take such actions. Although this is not a mandatory requirement for vaccines — no workers will be forced to vaccinate — officials hope that the inconvenience and discomfort caused by weekly testing will convince many people to overcome their reluctance to vaccinate.
“It’s about our recovery. It’s about what we need to do to bring back to New York City,” De Blasio said. “This is to ensure people’s safety.”
The September 13 deadline coincided with the opening of public schools, when the Democratic Mayor stated that he wanted all students to attend classes throughout the day. Urban health care workers and employees in collective housing and other gathering places will face earlier deadlines.
Democrats and Republicans are again trying to persuade unvaccinated Americans to get COVID-19. 2:00
The move comes as the city is fighting an increase in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Since the end of June, the average daily number of new cases has increased by more than 300%.
Last week, the city announced that it would make it mandatory for staff in the city’s hospital system to be vaccinated or tested weekly.
De Blasio expanded the requirements on Monday and urged private employers to adopt similar rules.
“My message to the private sector is: do your best,” the mayor said. “I strongly urge as close as possible or as close as possible to the vaccination requirements.”
‘New York City is a Union Town’
The unions representing city workers reacted mixedly to new tasks affecting their members.
The United Teachers Federation said in a statement: “Vaccinations and testing help make schools the safest place in the city.” “This method focuses on vaccination, but still allows individuals to choose and pass Regular testing provides additional protection.”
But Henry Garrido, executive director of the 37th District Council of the U.S. Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said: “If the city hall intends to test our members every week, they must first meet with us at the dinner table to bargain.”
Garrido’s union represents approximately 100,000 employees in multiple departments in New York City, and he stated that mandatory negotiations are required for weekly tests.
“New York City is a union town that cannot be ignored,” he said in a statement.
When asked about Garrido’s statement, de Blasio said the city has the right to require its employees to be vaccinated or tested.
“During the global pandemic, when it comes to the health and safety of our workers, as employers, we have the right to take urgent action to protect people’s health and protect their lives,” he said.
The daily dose of vaccine in the city has dropped from a peak of more than 100,000 in early April to less than 18,000. Approximately 65% ??of adults in the city have been fully vaccinated.
At the same time, the number of cases has been on the rise for several weeks, and health officials say this variant accounts for approximately 7 of the 10 new cases.
De Blasio has stated that he does not intend to re-implement the extensive indoor masking regulations as in Los Angeles County. In some cases, such as public transportation, it is necessary to wear a mask.
De Blasio said that municipal employees who have not been vaccinated will be required to wear masks all the time indoors.
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