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In a nation that is facing the lowest recruitment in our nation's history, first responders were hit with another blow. New York City will require police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The mandate affecting the nation's largest police force and more than 100,000 other city workers, including trash haulers and building inspectors, carries a Nov. 1 deadline for getting the first vaccine dose, de Blasio announced.
Currently, several major cities have taken this step. According to city officials, 71% of workers have been vaxxed. If a city worker makes the decison by the deadline, they will receive $500. If not, they will be placed on unpaid leave. It's not just in NYC, in Seattle, six police officers and 11 firefighters are slated for termination after that city's vaccine mandate took effect Monday. Another 93 Seattle officers and 66 firefighters were sidelined Tuesday while seeking religious or medical exemptions.
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