A mandate to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or get tested weekly is now in place for New York City’s public health care personnel — and the policy could “keep going up the ladder” to cover more municipal workers like teachers, police officers and firefighters, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday
Anyone who refuses the mandate will be suspended without pay, de Blasio said at his daily news conference.
The policy covering the city’s public health staff begins Aug. 2, Dr. Mitch Katz, who heads the city’s public hospitals and clinics, and Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, said news conference.
The city wants other health care organizations to adopt a similar mandate, Chokshi said.
Speaking earlier Wednesday on MSNBC, where he announced the imminent mandate, de Blasio said: “I think this is something we do piece by piece, but this is the wave of the future in my view — this idea of, you get vaccinated or you get tested very constantly.”
“When you say, vaccinate or get tested, that’s a very fair deal. I think that’s something we can apply in many, many areas. Over time, we gotta see what works, and I do think people are gonna respond,” de Blasio said. “If, thankfully, people get vaccinated and the delta variant is pushed back, that’s a good-news story. If people don’t get vaccinated and delta grows, I think a lot of people will come to the conclusion, rightfully, that we might have to be more aggressive. But what we’re trying to do today is say, let’s start with the most obvious piece of the equation — health care.”
De Blasio was responding to a question from MSNBC “Morning Joe” panelist Mike Barnicle, who asked if vaccinations should be mandatory for teachers.
The mandate for city workers at its public hospitals — including clinics — comes as the more-infectious delta variant spreads across New York City and the country. On Tuesday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 83% of sequenced coronavirus was the variant, which first emerged in India. Similar figures have been found in sequenced virus in New York City.
The mandate is intended to nudge unvaccinated health care workers in the public health system to get vaccinated.
“Ultimately, a lot of people have been on the fence. This will be the moment when, like, OK, OK, I’ll get vaccinated or after they get tested week after week after week, I think a lot of health care workers are gonna say, ‘Hey, this is a hassle. Let’s just go ahead and get vaccinated,’” he told CNN later Wednesday morning.
Asked about mandating vaccinations — without the weekly testing option — de Blasio said: “This is a step.”
“We’re going to look at all the factors of how you move things,” de Blasio said.
Asked in the CNN appearance whether he envisioned expanding the mandate to police officers, firefighters and teachers, he said: “We’re gonna look at different options … I do think it makes sense to then go look at other possibilities, and to keep going up the ladder.”
Although the virus rarely infects children, the variant has been found to be more dangerous for that age group.
An estimated one-third of workers at the city’s public hospitals and clinics are unvaccinated. The vaccination rate of teachers, police and firefighters wasn’t immediately available.
De Blasio noted that the public school system had been testing personnel and students regularly in the last school year as part of the city’s reopening.
“By the way, all the unions agreed to that, in New York City,” de Blasio said on MSNBC. “So the notion of regular testing we have already, and we’re gonna need that going forward, obviously.”
Staff and students are currently required to wear masks in city schools.
Emails sent early Wednesday to the labor unions representing teachers, police officers and firefighters were not immediately returned.
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