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COVID Vaccination Rate For New York City Workers Hits 74%—But First Responders Still Lag Behind
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 27, 2021
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Ryan Rahman / Shutterstock
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 27, 2021
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Two weeks into New York City's "vax-or-test" rule, six municipal agencies, including those that make up first responders, are yet to see their COVID-19 vaccination levels hit 60%.
The holdouts demonstrate how the city continues to struggle with vaccinating key members of its workforce amid Mayor Bill de Blasio's offensive with requirements and a back-to-the-workplace order. Both have been met with protest.
As of Friday, 74% of city workers, or roughly 272,000 people, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to data provided by the mayor's office. That lags behind the citywide rate for all adults, 82%. The size of the city's workforce varies seasonally, but officials said it was roughly 367,000 people in mid-August.
More than a month has now passed since Mayor de Blasio first announced that New York City workers would have to get vaccinated or submit to weekly virus testing, but that policy only took effect on September 13th. At the time, the move was seen as trailblazing for a large U.S. city. Since then, President Joe Biden has made vaccinations mandatory for a vast majority of federal workers and contractors.
De Blasio has repeatedly said that he would be willing to issue a stricter mandate removing the option to test out if immunization rates did not improve, though he has not specified a target. Such a rule already exists for city health care employees and Department of Education staff, though. The deadline for both groups to get at least one shot had been set for Monday. However, the mandate for city educators was delayed after a federal judge on Friday issued a temporary injunction. Before that ruling, the mayor said the city had "thousands" of vaccinated substitute teachers ready to fill in for those who chose to remain unvaccinated.
"So yes, we'll have to use some substitutes," de Blasio said Friday on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show. "There's no question. But we don't lack for substitute teachers. And we'll make the adjustments. And if we have to bring even more, we'll get even more."
Dr. Denis Nash, an epidemiology professor at CUNY who favors a strict mandate, said the progress seemed to be "glacial" for some city departments--and that it could be a sign that there were many employees who were simply willing to undergo weekly testing rather than get vaccinated.
For example, the city's fire department—which has more than 17,000 uniform and civilian employees—has barely increased its vaccination rate since the last data dump on September 9th, inching up just one percent over the past three weeks. It's now at 58%.
The New York City Police Department's roughly 52,000 civilian and uniformed members saw slightly better progress: its vaccination rate rose from 53% to 58% during the same period. At least 61 NYPD officers have died of coronavirus, with two deaths reported in the last five weeks.
The Department of Corrections, which has been under scrutiny for the ongoing Rikers Island crisis, has the lowest reported vaccination rate, that of 48%. As of July, there were around 9,000 employees, though staffing shortages have beset the agency.
At the top end, the Landmarks Preservation Commission notched the highest vaccination rate on the list, that of 97%. It has around 75 employees.
There is one puzzling trend in the city's latest report. The Conflicts of Interest Board saw a decrease in its vaccination rate, from 92% to 86%, suggesting either an increase in staffing or a change in reporting. From the start, the city's data collection method on vaccinations has been at times incomplete and inconsistent. Some agencies initially said they did not include employees who were vaccinated outside the city. It is also unclear how many agencies, such as the Department of Education, created a self-reporting portal for their staffers.
Laura Feyer, a spokesperson at City Hall, said the latest increase in vaccination rates was "both due to more complete data collection and more vaccinations."
Surprisingly, the mayor's office, with around 300 employees, saw no increase in its vaccination rate over the last three weeks. That number still stands at 86%.
Tagged
vaccination
COVID-19
mayor bill de blasio
vaccine mandate
health
city workers
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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