The number of New York City employees FIRED for refusing to get the experimental Covid-19 vaccine has grown, Mayor Eric Adams’ office confirmed Saturday.
Responding to inquiries from The Post, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said total firings had reached 1,752 as of July 13, including the recently fired 200 city employees. His office declined to provide breakdowns by departments.
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.
Just after Adams terminated the unvaxxed city staff, he faced backlash from police and fire associations.
Here’s what Adams said in a statement earlier this year:
“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.”
NBC New York reported:
Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, who once estimated up to 500 firefighters would face the risk of termination due to their refusal to comply with the mandate, called out the mayor for exempting New York City-based professional athletes and performers from the citywide mandate.
“If you’re gonna force people to get vaccinated because the science changes, you also have to acknowledge that you’re allowing people to have exceptions because the science changes, and it’s no longer necessary,” Ansbro said.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch told NBC New York that the union has been suing the city over its arbitrary and capricious vaccine mandate.
“New York City police officers were on the street throughout the pandemic, working without adequate PPE and in many cases contracting and recovering from COVID themselves,” Lynch said. “They don’t deserve to be treated like second-class citizens now.”
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.
More than 6,000 city workers who applied for medical or religious accommodations or exemptions from the vaccination requirement have yet to get a decision.
Sources: DailyWire, New York Post, NBCnewyork, Fox News, USnews