Vaccine mandate for police? NYC looking at ‘all options’
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s mayor said Friday he’s looking at “all options” when it comes to a possible COVID-19 vaccine mandate for police officers — an idea backed by the city’s police commissioner but opposed by its largest police union.
“We’re looking at all options,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his weekly appearance on Brian Lehrer’s WNYC radio show.
“In the coming days I’ll speak about additional steps for different parts of the city, our workforce and beyond, different things we’re going to be looking at, different things we’re going to be doing,” de Blasio said. “But that’s still several days away because we’re doing a very meticulous analysis of what is the next step that makes sense.”
De Blasio has floated a potential vaccine mandate for the NYPD, the nation's largest police department, for several weeks. The department's vaccination rate has lagged behind the rest of the city, with some officers flat out refusing to get the shots.
As of Wednesday, 68% of the NYPD’s workforce was vaccinated, according to Commissioner Dermot Shea, compared with 76% of adult New Yorkers who have been fully vaccinated. The NYPD has about 34,500 uniformed personnel and about 17,700 people in non-uniformed support positions.
The discussion about a vaccine mandate heated up in recent days after Shea again said he’d support the move and fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told reporters he’d favor the same for firefighters. At the same time, the Supreme Court denied a challenge to a city vaccine mandate for public school teachers, showing a potential legal pathway for expanding the requirement to other city agencies.
The state has mandated vaccines for health care workers and people in New York City must show proof of vaccination to eat indoors at restaurants or attend...
