Thousands of New York City workers set to lose jobs over vaccine mandate

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Around 3,000 New York City employees could lose their jobs Friday for failing to follow COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

New York City requires its employees including teachers, firefighters, police officers and others to present proof of vaccination as of Friday, according to rules passed in 2021.

The vaccination rate among municipal workers in New York City stands at around 95 percent as a number of exceptions were nodded in recent months on religious or medical basis, according to local media reports.

The workers on unpaid leave who opted against receiving city-provided health benefits since the city's vaccine mandate took effect on Nov. 1, 2021 and workers hired after Aug. 2, 2021 who haven't presented proof of a second vaccination shot will potentially be impacted by the deadline, according to a report by New York Daily News on Thursday.

New York City has around 370,000 municipal workers and the unions have negotiated with the city for extension or flexibility regarding the mandate.

Protesters plan to rally against the mandate at City Hall on Friday in addition to similar protests in recent days.

"I want them to stay. I want them to be employees of the city, but they have to follow the rules that were put in place before my administration," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday.

Adams, who took office on Jan. 1, 2022, said he would not do a disservice to those who follow the rules and would not set a bad precedent.

"We have to be very clear. People must be vaccinated if they are New York City employees," Adams added.

Around 9,000 New York City workers were put on unpaid leave on Nov. 1, 2021 for not following the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.