The number of New York City employees fired for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine has grown, Mayor Eric Adams’ office confirmed Saturday.
A spokesman for the Democrat told the New York Post the number of city workers fired reached 1,752 by mid-July, which is about 200 more than previously reported.
Adams said in February that he fired 1,430 non-compliant employees, mainly in the Department of Education and some in the NYPD and FDNY, but has not given an update since then. According to NBC New York, the terminated employees represent less than 1 percent of the city's 370,000-strong workforce.
Data provided by City Hall Monday shows the majority of employees who were fired worked in the Department of Education, which saw 914 people let go. The Housing Authority terminated 101 workers.
Also fired were 36 New York Police Department workers and 25 FDNY employees. (ABC News)
“City workers served on the frontlines during the pandemic, and by getting vaccinated, they are, once again, showing how they are willing to do the right thing to protect themselves and all New Yorkers,” Adams said earlier this year. “Our goal was always to vaccinate, not terminate, and city workers stepped up and met the goal placed before them.”
Some employees have been offered a chance to change their minds.
Last month, Adams offered most workers fired for going without a jab a brief period to get their jobs back — provided they got the first dose of a vaccine by June 30 and made arrangements for a second dose by Aug. 15.
The Mayor’s Office declined to say how many ex-staffers took advantage of the offer and returned to work, but sources said few first responders did. Staffers fired from Department of Education jobs are expected to be offered a similar deal separately this summer. (New York Post)
Adams' office did not say which departments the additional fired employees worked at.