More than a quarter of New York City's 55,000-member police force could get sent home without pay if they don't comply with the mayor's order to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Friday's deadline.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea is trying to sway officers - some of the most vaccine-hesitant workers in city government - to comply with last week's order by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
About 73 percent of NYPD workers have at least one shot, which means that as many as 27 percent of police employees could be placed on unpaid leave starting Monday, when the mandate takes effect, if they don't get vaccinated by 5pm Friday.
Mayor de Blasio says he feels 'ready' to handle a dramatic drop-off in the number of officers even as violent crime continues to plague the city, but it remains unclear how the department would keep enough officers on the street.
More than a quarter of the NYPD's employees could be put on unpaid leave starting Monday
All city employees have until Friday at 5pm to get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Above, a student gets a shot at a vaccination event in a Staten Island high school in August
About 73 percent of NYPD workers are vaccinated, police say. The department has had some of the lowest vaccination rates of all city organs since vaccines became available
'Remember, our first responder agencies, our uniformed agencies went through so much last year where they had huge numbers of members out because of COVID and they had to keep making constant adjustments to provide the services we need to keep people safe - and they did it and they did it very well,' de Blasio said during his daily briefing Wednesday morning..
Shea told NY1 on Tuesday that the department is preparing for the deadline 'as if this is going to go into effect Friday evening.'
'We have vaccines available throughout the city for our members.'
Mayor de Blasio, who instituted the order last Wednesday, says he expects officers to hold out until the last minute.
'What I expect is a surge of activity, particularly on Friday,' de Blasio said.
'We had this pattern with the health care workers. We had this pattern with everyone who works for Department of Education, which is, by far, our biggest agency – a surge of vaccination right up on the deadline.
'And then, some people who didn't get vaccinated by the deadline, but recognize that they're about to be put on unpaid leave, who would then go out and get vaccinated immediately, and then even others who get vaccinated in the days after.'
New York City was averaging about 1,137 cases of COVID-19 on October 17, the last day of full data. More than 85 percent of city adults have at least one dose of a vaccine.
He also said the city is prepared to handle staffing changes arising from officers who decline to get the shot.
'These are agencies that have been preparing for months,' he said.
DeBlasio, above getting a Moderna booster shot on Monday, announced a vaccine mandate with no weekly test-out option for all city workers just last week
NYC was averaging about 1,137 cases of COVID-19 on October 17, the last day of full data
'Every one of the commissioners has been absolutely
