Corona in New York: Unvaccinated prison candidates face suspension

New York. The New York prison system is threatened with the failure of hundreds of unvaccinated prison officials in the corona pandemic: They could be suspended for missing a deadline for mandatory vaccinations against the corona virus next Tuesday.

The competent authority reported that by Monday afternoon, 77 percent of the prison staff in the city had been vaccinated at least once. This meant that around 1900 employees were still pending their first vaccination at this point in time. Due to a lack of staff, the deadline for vaccinations had already been postponed by a month.

Religious or medical reasons for exemption

Prison workers who wish to make use of an exemption for religious or medical reasons can initially continue to work while their cases are being investigated.

Those who still had not provided a vaccination certificate by 5:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday and did not want to make use of an exception rule should be given unpaid leave and return firearms and protective clothing issued by the city.

Emergency Executive Order

In anticipation of the imminent consequences of the vaccination mandate, Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an emergency executive order on Monday, which makes it possible to switch from eight-hour to twelve-hour shifts in the event of staff shortages.

The prison guards union president criticized it as “reckless and misguided”. The union announced a lawsuit. A police union tried to do the same thing at the end of October when the vaccination mandate for police officers was approaching – without success. The union failed and the vaccination order went into effect as planned.

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