City school employees who have not shown evidence they had a subsequent vaccine chance under Mayor de Blasio’s mandate have been permitted to keep working a month past the cutoff time with “updates” rather than being put on neglected leave, report.
The Department of Education last week sent chiefs an example letter to give staffers who are “not in full compliance” with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which required evidence of a twofold portion of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine 45 days later the first.
The first deadline to agree was Nov. 18.
A Queens teacher impacted what she called remiss enforcement.
“The citizens of NYC have been paying these unvaccinated teachers’ compensations for the last month while the UFT has joyfully gathered their levy,” she said. “Meanwhile, Covid is wild among staff in city schools. Is this the best quality level of safety, Mr. Mayor?”
Asked over and over, the DOE would not say the number of its 146,000 regular specialists didn’t show verification of the two shots.
“We have conveyed sees reminding staff who have not transferred evidence of a second portion to do as such at the earliest opportunity,” said representative Katie O’Hanlon.
Experts said the failure to completely vaccinate put staffers and students atgreater risk of infection.
“People with just a single shot will get the infection and become ill at significantly higher rates than the individuals who are completely vaccinated,” said Dr. Robert Darnell, an educator and senior doctor at The Rockefeller University.
The resistance acquired from a single shot melts away quicker than with two, and security against variations like Delta or Omicron is more fragile, he added.
“Most importantly staff, children and family all have a lot higher danger with a solitary shot than they would on the off chance that all were completely vaccinated,” Darnell said.
On Thursday, the last day of school before the Christmas break — and the last under Mayor de Blasio’s residency — the DOE’s COVID-19 Situation Room counted 1,009 new diseases: 658 students, and 351 staffers, carrying the absolute since September to 22,981. At present, 11 schools and 357 classrooms are shut; 3,986 classrooms are to some extent quarantined.
City Hall released data showing that 96% of the DOE’s labor force have gotten somewhere around a single shot.