Topline
A mandate requiring that all New York City public school employees be vaccinated for Covid-19 will not be allowed to go into place, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday evening, but the temporary reprieve for thousands of unvaccinated workers may not last long.
Lenox Hill Hospital Chair of Emergency Medicine Yves Duroseau receives a Covid-19 vaccine from Dr. ... [+]
Key Facts
The court granted an injunction blocking the mandate, which was scheduled to go into effect Monday, referring a suit challenging the mandate to a three-judge panel for “expedited review.”
According to the Staten Island Advance, the review could be completed sometime this weekend, meaning it’s possible the mandate could still take hold on Monday.
The mandate requires all public school employees, including teachers, custodians and NYPD school safety agents, to have at least a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by Monday night.
Unlike the existing policy, it does not allow unvaccinated employees to continue working by submitting weekly negative test results.
Crucial Quote
“We’re confident our vaccine mandate will continue to be upheld once all the facts have been presented, because that is the level of protection our students and staff deserve,” NYC Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Filson told the Associated Press.
Key Background
More than 80% of school staff are vaccinated, but that still leaves up to 28,000 school workers in the nation’s largest city that haven’t gotten a shot, according to the New York Post. The broad mandate, not giving the option of submitting negative tests, is the first of its kind for public workers in New York and has the support of the United Federation of Teachers union. Despite that, hundreds of teachers signed on to a lawsuit aimed at stopping the mandate, which was initially rejected by Judge Brian M. Cogan in Brooklyn federal court, leading to the appeal.
Further Reading
Federal judge deals blow to vaccine mandate for NYC teachers (The Associated Press)
NYC Mandates Vaccines For All Public School Teachers And Staff (Forbes)
Judge’s ruling creates cliffhanger for NYC teacher vaccine mandate (New York Post)
In twist, fed appeals court grants temporary block on NYC teacher vaccine mandate pending review (Staten Island Advance)
