Vaccinations
Many seeking religious exemptions have cited fetal tissue research and declining COVID numbers as a reason to keep their jobs, but spiritual leaders and health experts argue otherwise.
The CDC now recommends vaccination for all children 6 months and older. City parents have been frustrated with wait times, but vaccines should be available through one of 10 vaccine hubs, their pediatrician or some major pharmacies.
Thousands of private and public sector employees can’t work because of a vaccine mandate, but for the city’s sports and nightlife celebs, it’s game on.
But most dining proprietors expressed relief at no longer being “the police” for COVID measures
A majority of NYC’s public school students are fully vaccinated against COVID, but deep disparities remain.
Despite global spiritual leaders encouraging the jab, one Brooklyn rabbi said any colleague of his who rejects an exemption request “isn’t Jewish.”
Elected officials slammed Mayor de Blasio Tuesday for closing 20 city-run sites before the Omicron surge and called on him to quickly increase testing capacity — especially for youngsters under 4. Meanwhile, the mayoral inauguration ceremony was postponed.
De Blasio pledged on Monday to open 20 new fixed-location testing sites — as many as he shuttered in recent weeks. Meanwhile, throngs endured chilly slogs for tests and grappled with delayed or lost results as Omicron fueled record positive-case rates.
With Omicron propelling record infections and long pre-holiday lines outside testing facilities, the mayor and Mayor-elect Eric Adams scrambled to assure New Yorkers that we’ll get through the “fast and temporary phenomenon” of the variant.
Kids, ages 5 to 11, started getting their shots, though demand outpaced supply at some schools and lines wrapped around the block at others. Parents got $100 gift cards after their children received the first-come, first-served shots.
GOT A TIP?
We’re here to listen. Email tips@thecity.nyc or visit our tips page for other ways to share.
Following the recent federal emergency approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, city officials are setting up one-day vaccine clinics at more than 1,000 school sites across the city that serve these students.
Social service groups, already struggling with staff shortages and financial woes caused by late city payments, want more time. Ditto for municipal unions, which are mulling legal action. Meanwhile, a $500 vaccine incentive is causing a stir.
There are no longer any city-run brick-and-mortar testing or vaccination sites above West 181st Street. And the van that serves the area isn’t enough for more than 87,000 residents, local leaders say.
Legislation introduced by state Sen. Brad Hoylman would bar the double standard that allows out-of-town athletes and performers like the anti-mandate podcast comic to appear without proof of vaccination while local stars must get their shots.
Performers who live in the city and pro athletes who represent “home teams” are required to get their shots, per a City Hall mandate. But out-of-town entertainers — and their entourages — get a free pass. Rogan, a mandate foe, hits Madison Square Garden Saturday.
A federal appeals court has removed a temporary block on New York City’s vaccine mandate for Department of Education employees, paving the way for officials to require all school staff to either get the vaccine or be put on unpaid leave.
A federal judge temporarily blocked an order that could have barred tens of thousands of teachers and other workers from classes this week. But a panel of three jurists is expected to review the case Wednesday.
As the vaccine mandate for New York City teachers is set to take effect next week, schools are bracing for this Tuesday when thousands of educators might be barred from their classrooms.
Big changes come after just one week of school as de Blasio announces new measures designed to keep more kids in class. But entire elementary school classrooms may still have to quarantine if a teacher tests positive.
The MTA’s “Transformation Management Office” is being downsized out of existence as the transit agency confronts staffing shortfalls that have snagged subway and bus trips.
In case you missed it
- Justice Reforms Not Expected to Make It Out of Albany Budget Talks
- East Village Tenants Say New Landlord Is Pushing Them Out
- Surprise: Wall Street Bonuses Weather Economic Storm
- Landlords Demand Major Rent Increase After Dismal Housing Report
- Adams Inks Deal with Aetna, Paving Way for Switch to Medicare Advantage
LOCAL NEWS POWERED BY NEW YORKERS.
We cover the uncovered, hold the powerful accountable, and make sense of the greatest city in the world.