New York City will require all of its municipal workers to get coronavirus vaccines by mid-September or face weekly Covid-19 testing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in July. The rule is expected to affect about 340,000 city employees, making the city one of the largest employers in the U.S.
The mayor has pointed out this isn’t a “vaccine mandate” – no workers will be forced to take a shot – but those that don’t will be required to take weekly tests. A Sept. 13 deadline to be vaccinated coincides with the start of public school, when the mayor expects all pupils to be in classrooms full time.
The move comes as the city battles a rise in Covid-19 cases, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. Since the end of June, the daily average of new cases has increased by more than 300%. The number of vaccine doses being given out daily in the city has dropped to less than 18,000 – down from a peak of more than 100,000 in early April. About 65% of the adults in the city are fully vaccinated.
In July, the city also announced it was mandating vaccinations or weekly testing for workers in the city’s hospital system.
Source: Crain’s New York Business
