By Hadassa Kalatizadeh
On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announced that all public school staff in New York City must get at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot by the last Monday in September. “Today, the New York City Department of Education will be issuing an order requiring all staff in New York City schools to be vaccinated,” de Blasio said during his daily press briefing. “All staff of every kind needs to have at least one dose by Sept. 27.” “We know this is going to help ensure that everyone is safe,” he added.
As reported by the NY Post, the mandate will affect 148,000 Department of Education workers, including teachers, those employed in the DOE’s central offices and contractors who work in schools. There will be no option for testing in lieu of the jab. “This is our passport out of the pandemic,” said Meisha Ross Porter, the city’s schools chancellor. “This vaccine mandate is on top of the multi-layered measures we already have in place, which make our schools some of the safest places to be during COVID.” New York City is now the largest public school system in the country to mandate the vaccine, as per CNN. The mayor’s announcement came just hours after the FDA granted the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine full approval.
Though the mayor admitted that City Hall has not reached a deal with the union representing the city’s public school teachers, he vowed to get the mandate implemented on schedule even “if bargaining does not succeed.” Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, confessed the policy will move forward even without the union’s approval, but said there were some details to discuss. “While the city is asserting its legal authority to establish this mandate, there are many implementation details, including provisions for medical exceptions, that by law must be negotiated with the UFT and other unions, and if necessary, resolved by arbitration,” said Mulgrew in a statement.
“While CSA has supported all efforts to encourage vaccination, we have also insisted that vaccination and testing policies are subjects for collective bargaining,” said Mark Cannizzaro, president of Council of School Supervisors & Administrators. He added, “we will work to protect our members’ rights and interests at the bargaining table.”
Mayor de Blasio explained that the vaccine mandate will not apply to public school students. He said it is of utmost importance for kids to get back in classrooms. As per the Post, he added that at-home COVID-19 testing kits will be available for parents and their families.
