NEW YORK CITY VACCINE MANDATE MAY COST 3,000 WORKERS THEIR JOB

Sat 12 February 2022:

On Friday, New York City was set to fire about 3,000 municipal employees for missing a deadline to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The probable dismissals come amid mounting opposition to coronavirus restrictions in North America, as governments unilaterally abolish mask laws.

Under directives issued by former mayor Bill de Blasio last year, all city personnel, including cops, firefighters, and teachers, must obtain at least one dosage of a vaccination.

“We’re not firing them. People are quitting,” his successor, Eric Adams, said on Thursday.

“The responsibility is clear. We said it: if you’re hired, if you get this job, you have to be vaccinated. If you are not following the rules, you are making that decision,” he added.

Mandatory vaccinations, like mandatory mask-wearing, have been a contentious political issue in the United States, with the Republican-led state of Texas going so far as to outlaw them.

At least one dosage of vaccination has been given to 95 percent of the city’s municipal personnel.

The 3,000 employees represent less than 1% of the 370,000 city employees in New York.

Thousands more are still unvaccinated, but have asked for medical or religious exemptions in order to keep their jobs.

The deadline is set for Friday after New York State’s indoor mask law expired on Thursday.

Several other states, including California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, said this week that mask laws for businesses and schools will be repealed.

The announcements come as the US government becomes increasingly concerned about copycat trucker-led protests against coronavirus restrictions that have shut down the Canadian capital of Ottawa and three US border crossings.

In the United States, supporters of the campaign have called for a convoy of truckers to gather in California in early March for a two-day rally before possibly proceeding to Washington, D.C.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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