NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will require police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave. Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement Wednesday. That presents an ultimatum to public employees who’ve refused, and ensures there will be a fight with some of the unions representing them. The mandate affects the nation’s largest police department and more than 100,000 other Big Apple workers. That includes trash haulers and building inspectors. The mandate carries a Nov. 1 deadline for getting the first vaccine dose.
Photo: FILE – In this Oct. 5, 2020, file photo, New York Police Department officers in masks stand during a service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to honor 46 colleagues who have died due to COVID-19 related illness. New York City will require police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, giving an ultimatum to public employees who’ve refused and ensuring a fight with some of the unions representing them. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
