New York City’s Covid Vaccine Mandate for School Staff Blocked by Judge | new York



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Schools in New York City were temporarily barred from enforcing a vaccination warrant for teachers and other workers by a federal appeals judge, days before it went into effect.

The workers’ mandate for America’s largest school system was due to go into effect Monday.

Late Friday, a judge in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary injunction and referred the case to a three-judge panel on an expedited basis.

Education Department spokeswoman Danielle Filson said officials were looking for an early resolution next week.

“We are confident that our vaccine mandate will continue to be met once all the facts are presented, because this is the level of protection that our students and staff deserve,” said Filson.

The New York Post reported that the department sent an email to directors on Saturday morning saying they “should continue to prepare for the possibility of the vaccination mandate going into effect later in the week.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in August that around 148,000 school employees are expected to receive at least a first dose of Covid-19 vaccination by September 27. The policy covers teachers as well as other staff, such as guards and cafeteria workers.

This is the first vaccination mandate without a testing option for a large group of employees in the country’s most populous city. And it reflects a similar statewide mandate for hospital and nursing home workers that is due to go into effect on Monday.

As of Friday, 82% of the department’s employees had been vaccinated, including 88% of teachers. Even though most school workers have been vaccinated, unions representing principals and teachers have warned that the one-million-student school system may still be short of 10,000 teachers, as well as other staff.

De Blasio resisted calls to delay the mandate, insisting the city was ready.

“We have planned from the start,” the Democrat said in a radio interview on Friday. “We have a lot of replacements ready. A lot will happen by Monday, but beyond that we’re ready even if we need thousands, we have thousands. “

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