The Big Apple’s COVID vaccine mandate is in effect—and there will be gaps with regards to some services. The New York City Police Department and the Fire Department of New York are making moves to fill the gaps. The overall vaccination rate is quite high at over 90 percent. There were more than a few first responders who opted to get the shot prior to the mandate taking effect, but 26 fire companies were reportedly shuttered. Yesterday, in some parts of the city, the garbage has not been picked up due to around 20 percent of the sanitation force not being vaccinated (via CBS New York):
Some fire companies are already temporarily out of service, and garbage in some places has not been picked up. The question now is, was that in protest, or are those kind of cutbacks here to stay?
Heaps of garbage on 76th Street on the Upper West Side on Sunday was a stinky sign of the delayed pickups parts of the Big Apple saw over the past week. The city says 18% of sanitation employees are not vaccinated.
In preparation for Monday’s mandate taking effect, an agency spokesperson said Thursday that sanitation workers were moved to 12-hour shifts, and they will be working Sundays as needed, as they did on Halloween. Residents are being encouraged to put materials at the curb, according to their normal collection schedule.
“It smells and like I can’t walk on the street, so obviously it does concern me,” TriBeCa resident Touseef Haidar said.
“City workers should get vaccinated and it’s always something you have to peel off the Band-Aid at some point so might as well do it tomorrow,” Chelsea resident Kumaran Vijayakumar said.
The NYPD and FDNY, which are needed 24/7 for emergencies, are also trying to fill gaps.
The latest numbers show 20% of the FDNY’s 17,000 employees are not vaccinated. For firefighters, that number is 25% and for EMS workers, it’s 13%.
“I understand a lot of firefighters aren’t working, so there’s safety issues as well. I hope they get it resolved quickly,” city resident Jon Kessler said.
Now, regarding the NYPD itself—the number of officers on unpaid leave due to mandate was low, but officials warned that the figure could spike throughout the day—and it probably will (via NY Post):
Only a few a dozen NYPD members were placed on unpaid leave Monday after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine — but thousands of unvaccinated employees remain on the job with pending exemption requests, the city’s top cop said.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said 34 cops and 40 civilian members of the force — which account for fewer than .15 percent of NYPD employees — did not comply with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s mandate requiring most city workers to get their first jab by Monday.
“That’s very fluid. That could go up as the day goes on,” said Shea referring to NYPD members forced on unpaid leave, while adding that applications for medical or religious exemptions are still pending.
Still, the NYPD is bracing for a mass exodus especially from those who are eligible to collect their pensions. Let’s hope the fallout is minimal but it also could have been avoided if Democrats weren’t so mandate-happy.
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