A Staten Island judge denied a police union's request to temporarily halt the implementation of the city's vaccine mandate that is set to take effect November 1. The haphazard rollout of this mandate has created chaos in the NYPD," PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said in a statement. The policy requires police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers get at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Friday or be placed on unpaid leave. Correctional officers on Rikers Island — a New York City prison that has been grappling with staffing shortages and unsafe conditions — will be subject to the mandate on December 1. The PBA, which represents over 24,000 current NYPD officers, contends that getting the vaccine is a personal medical decision.
