Mandatory New York Vaccine for All Officials: $500 reward if first shot is taken before October 29 | Abroad

New York City will make the coronavirus vaccine mandatory for all officials, including police officers and firefighters. This was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio. If you take the first dose on time, you will receive a bonus of $500 (430€).

The commitment takes effect November 1 for all city employees, including police, firefighters and garbage collectors. The city also promised to immediately start negotiations with the trade unions involved.

Observers are given an additional month. The obligation will only apply to them effective December 1 due to staffing issues, particularly at Rikers Island Prison.

To motivate officials, the city will award a $500 reward to those who get their first injection before October 29. The salaries of those who are not on time will be suspended until they can prove that they have been vaccinated.

Figures show that about 71 percent of the city’s 160,000 officials have already received at least one dose of the vaccine. This means that nearly 46,000 employees have not yet been vaccinated.

Until now, the strict adherence only applied to certain professions, such as teachers and care workers. In these groups, the vaccination rate will now be 95 percent.