De Blasio made the remarks during an Oct. 28 press conference, on the eve of a looming Oct. 29 deadline for municipal workers to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with no testing opt-out, or face being sent home without pay starting Monday, Nov. 1. …In the face of opposition to the mandate, thousands of firefighters protested at the mayor’s residence on Thursday, raising concerns of walkouts and retirings. On Wednesday, New York Fire Department (FDNY) Commissioner Daniel Nigro said as many as 20 percent of the city’s firehouses could close on Monday and around 20 percent fewer ambulances would be on the roads due to staffing shortages, The Gothamist reported. …Andrew Ansbro, the President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, told The Gothamist. “The basic services of the city are about to come to a near screeching halt.” …It comes as a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 37 percent of unvaccinated workers would quit their jobs if their employer required that they either take weekly COVID-19 tests or get vaccinated.
