On Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a final warning to the city’s nearly 148,000 public school employees, stating that unvaccinated personnel would be placed on unpaid leave and would not be able to work this week. Where necessary, the city planned to bring in substitutes.
Implementing the policy smoothly may be a struggle for de Blasio, a Democrat who has boasted about the city’s record of keeping school buildings open for the majority of the last school year while other districts switched to all-remote instruction. This year, New York City does not provide a remote alternative.
As of Friday, 90 percent of Department of Education staff, including 93 percent of teachers and 98 percent of principals, had received at least one vaccine shot, according to De Blasio.
The nation’s largest school system’s vaccination mandate does not contain a test-out option, but it does allow for medical and religious exemptions. It was meant to take effect last week, but it was postponed after a federal appeals court issued a temporary injunction. Three days later, an appeals tribunal overturned that verdict.
On Oct. 15, a similar regulation is expected to go into force in Los Angeles.
According to Mark Cannizzaro, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, despite an increase in vaccinations last week, some principals are struggling to recruit enough staff to replace unvaccinated employees.
“While we’re thankful that the percentage of vaccinated staff has increased systemwide since the deadline was extended, there are still too many school leaders that have been unable to find qualified substitutes for Monday,” Cannizzaro said.
According to a spokesperson for the United Federation of Teachers, the city “needs to work hard to make sure enough vaccinated personnel are in place to safely open the schools Monday morning.”
On Thursday, teachers and other school personnel who had sued over the school vaccine mandate sought the United States Supreme Court for an emergency injunction to prevent its implementation. On Friday, the request was dismissed.
Many students and parents support the vaccine mandate as the best way to keep schools open during the pandemic.
“It’s safer for our kids,” said Joyce Ramirez, 28, who was picking her three children up from a Bronx elementary school last week.
Ramirez expressed hope that the rule will reduce the likelihood of instructors acquiring the illness and being forced to close their classrooms or schools.
Cody Miller, a 15-year-old student at a Manhattan high school, believes that all teachers should be vaccinated.
“I think they should,” said the teen, who got vaccinated as soon as the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for adults aged 12 and up.
“It’s so many kids, it’s a big environment, you know?”
Another Bronx parent, Mally Diroche, had conflicting feelings.
“I kind of feel like that’s a decision they should be able to make on their own,” said the mom of three boys between 3 and 12. Diroche, 29, said she feels that masks and other precautions can check the virus’ spread within schools.
Some instructors have qualms about the mandate, but they are following through.
Maurice Jones, 46, a support staff member at a Manhattan middle school, said he was vaccinated months ago but sympathizes with coworkers who haven’t.
“If they’ve got to get tested more they’ve got to get tested more,” Jones said.
“I don’t think they should lose their job.”
Roxanne Rizzi, from an elementary school in Queens, waited until Friday to get her first coronavirus vaccine shot.
“I had to do it for the finances of my family,” she said.
Rizzi, 55, had resisted the vaccine because she contracted COVID-19 in November and believed natural immunity would protect her. She said she would continue to protest the mandate.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people should get vaccinated even if they have already been infected by the virus. The agency says COVID-19 vaccines offer better protection than natural immunity and help prevent getting infected again.
Image Credit: Getty
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