You are reading

New York City Mandates Vaccinations for Public School Teachers, Principals and Staff

(Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Aug. 23, 2021 By Christian Murray

All New York City public school employees will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in accordance with a new mandate announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio Monday morning.

The policy will affect all 148,000 Dept. of Education employees, including school principals, teachers and custodians. It will also apply to school safety officers and food providers.

Under the mandate, all staff will be required to show proof that they have had a least one dose of the vaccine by Sept. 27.

The announcement comes as the highly contagious Delta variant becomes more prevalent and just weeks before approximately 1 million New York City public school students return to class.

The mayor is adamant that there will be no remote learning in the upcoming year that starts Sept. 13.

“We know this is going to help ensure that everyone is safe,” de Blasio said during a news conference Monday. “We want our schools to be extraordinarily safe all year long.”

To date, about 63 percent of Dept. of Education employees have had at least one dose of the vaccine, according to city officials.

The policy follows the mayor’s announcement on Friday that public school athletes involved in high-risk sports like basketball and football must be vaccinated by the start of their season.

“Our schools must be safe spaces for our students,” said Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter, who spoke during the press conference Monday. The vaccine mandate, she added, provides “another layer of protection for our kids.”

The city has yet to disclose what the penalty will be for employees who don’t comply, or whether there will be exemptions.

The announcement comes on the same day that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Driver sought in hit-and-run that injured 14-year-old on scooter in Elmhurst: NYPD

Police from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck a 14-year-old boy and allegedly sped away from the scene earlier this month.

The incident occurred just before 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, as the youngster was riding a scooter on the sidewalk on 94th Street approaching the intersection of 50th Avenue when the motorist allegedly hit the kid and kept driving, police said Tuesday.

High-energy show

May. 14, 2025 By Nelson A. King

Brooklyn-based Jammins Events confirmed on Tuesday, May 13, that Beenie Mman, Chris Martin, Kevin Lyttle, and Louie Culture will headline a high-energy show at UBS Arena in Queens on Saturday, May 24, during the Memorial Weekend.