Essential workers rallying against the vaccine mandate in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
About 9,000 New York City workers were put on unpaid leave for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday.
Driving the news: New York City's vaccine mandate for all city employees went into effect on Monday. The 9,000 holdouts represent a fraction of the city's 400,000 employees.
The big picture: The city has not had any disruptions to any services because of staffing shortages, de Blasio said at his daily press briefing.
- The mayor said those who were placed on unpaid leave can return if they receive the vaccine.
By the numbers: The mayor also said they received 12,000 religious exemptions, which they were looking at and figuring out "in the coming days." 91% of New York City's public employees are fully vaccinated.
- More than 22,000 employees have been vaccinated since the mandate was announced, and more than 3,500 workers got vaccinated over the weekend.
What he's saying: "Thank you for getting vaccinated. Thank you for doing the right thing. Thank you for moving us forward," de Blasio said in a press briefing.
- "To every mayor in America, every governor in America, every CEO of a company in America, go to a full vaccination mandate because it will allow us to end the COVID era once and for all," de Blasio added.