NYC protests vaccine mandate as thousands face termination
Fewer than 4,000 of the city's 370,000 workers were facing termination at the end of January as a result of the mandate, according to the mayor's office, which said it expected to have an updated number of affected city employees on Monday.
Andrew Giuliani, a Republican candidate for governor and the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, slammed the vaccine mandate in remarks to dozens of demonstrators Friday morning at a protest outside City Hall in Manhattan.
Although the latest number would represent only roughly 1% of the city's workforce, it would be one of the biggest worker reductions in the United States due to a vaccine requirement.
The mayor appears willing to carry through on the terminations even as the state of New York prepares to join other U.S. states and cities in lifting many COVID-19 restrictions, with the recent surge in infections linked to the Omicron variant abating.
In December, Bill de Blasio, Adams' predecessor as mayor, ordered all public and private sector workers in the city to get inoculated with the vaccines.
In interviews and statements, union leaders vented anger over enforcement of the mandate.
