The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, fired more than 1,400 government workers because they refused to get vaccinated. They include 36 NYPD personnel, 25 workers of the Fire Department and 914 staff members of the Department of Education.
The number of people who were going to be laid off dropped sharply ahead of last Friday’s vaccine mandate deadline as more and more employees came forward with proof of having received at least one vaccine, City Hall officials said. Last week, city officials estimated that 4,000 workers were targeted for layoffs.
Then the number was reduced to around 3,400, and then to 1,430 layoffs, authorities said.
At one point, there were 2 ,40 veteran employees on unpaid leave who had not opted to extend their health insurance and had not have provided proof of vaccination. In the end, 1,428 of those city workers did not get vaccinated and were fired.
Almost 1,000 people, or 40%, provided evidence of having received at least one injection and returned to work, authorities said.
Meanwhile, 1,000 new employees, hired since August last year, had initially failed to submit documentation proving that they had received the two injections. But in the end, only two people didn’t get their shots and they were fired.
Adams thanked the vast majority of workers for getting vaccinated.
“The workers at The city served on the front lines during the pandemic, and by getting vaccinated, they are showing, once again, that they are willing to do the right thing to protect themselves and all New Yorkers,” the mayor said, according to ABC.
“Of all the new employees of the city who received notices (to get vaccinated) two weeks ago, only two who worked last week are no longer employed by the city. I am grateful to all the city workers who continue to serve New Yorkers.”
A city official told ABC that residents should not notice any disruption to services due to the layoffs. .
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