De Blasio to mandate COVID vaccinations for public hospitals staff

De Blasio has grown publicly frustrated with the slowing rate of vaccinations months into the shots’ rollouts

Mayor Bill de Blasio will mandate that employees of the city’s public hospital and health clinic systems be vaccinated for the coronavirus — or submit to weekly testing for COVID-19, The Post has learned.

The order, likely to be announced Wednesday or Thursday, will cover Health and Hospitals employees and those who work at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s public clinics, sources said.

It comes as the officials try to head off a COVID resurgence fueled by the new Delta variant, which is far easier to catch than previous versions of the virus, but whose effects are minimal for those who have been fully vaccinated.

De Blasio has grown publicly frustrated with the slowing rate of vaccinations months into the shots’ rollouts — particularly with employees of the city’s sprawling public hospital system.

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Fewer than 60 percent of H&H’s staff are fully vaccinated despite having been first in line for the shots months ago, The Post revealed Monday.

That’s lagging the city’s overall pace. So far, 64.6 percent of New York City adults have been completely vaccinated and 69.8 percent have gotten at least the first dose.

Hizzoner promised his administration would be making "making additional announcements" about stepping up the city’s vaccination drive in the coming days during his Tuesday briefing, as he was peppered with questions about the matter.

"This is literally a matter of life and death," he said. "At a certain point, personal responsibility actually matters."

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"So, we’ve been really nice, really communicative, really respectful," de Blasio continued. "Come on people, it’s time to step forward — and we’re going to make that real clear."

To read more from the New York Post, click here.

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