COVID vaccine mandate takes effect for NYC teachers, staff

New York, Oct. 5 (BUS) – A COVID-19 vaccine requirement for teachers and other staff took effect Monday in New York City’s public school system of more than one million students, in a major test of staff vaccination mandates being rolled out across the state.

The city had planned to bring in replacements when needed, with Mayor Bill de Blasio warning that unvaccinated school staff would be placed on unpaid leave. But de Blasio said 95 percent of the city’s 148,000 public school employees had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Monday morning, including 96 percent of teachers and 99 percent of principals.

“Our parents need to know that their children will be safe,” the mayor said. They trust us with their children. That’s what this mandate is all about. Every adult in our schools is being vaccinated now, and this will be the norm in the future.”

School counselor Misha Ross-Porter said she did not know exactly how many employees refused the shots and were given leave.

Implementing the mandate smoothly could test de Blasio, a Democrat who has boasted of the city’s record of keeping school buildings open for most of the past school year when other districts went into distance education. New York City is not offering a remote option this year.

The country’s largest school system is among the first in the country to require vaccinations for all of its employees. The system’s mandate does not include a test option, but does allow for medical and religious exemptions. A similar mandate is due to go into effect in Los Angeles on October 15.

De Blasio said about 43,000 doses have been administered since the authorization was announced on August 23.

US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona praised the vaccine’s mandate, saying New York City was “doing it right.”

“Students have to be in the classroom. They have to be safe and we need to make sure we do everything we can to allow our staff to be vaccinated and make sure our schools are as safe as possible,” Cardona said.

Vaccination rates rose in each school job category after the mandate was announced. The 37th District Council of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which represents about 20,000 employees of the city’s Department of Education, said 93 percent of those workers had provided evidence of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Sunday, up from 68% in beginning of September.

Under an agreement reached with the city, the 37 unvaccinated district council members who wish to apply for a medical or religious exemption have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to do so, union officials said in a press release.

The mandate was supposed to go into effect last week, but was delayed when a federal appeals court issued a temporary order sought by a group of teachers. The Appeals Committee overturned this decision three days later. An application to the Supreme Court for an injunction was also rejected.

MI