NYPD commissioner says vaccination rate at 80% hours before 5 p.m. deadline

A surge in last-minute COVID-19 vaccinations brought 80% of the NYPD into compliance with a city mandate to get at least one of the shots by Friday evening, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.

The commissioner, in an interview on 1010 WINS radio, said he expected that number to rise through the weekend, and believes the NYPD will have enough personnel on hand by the start of the next workweek.

"I think we will be in good shape for Monday morning," Shea said. "What the public should know is that we will be there, we will have the resources out there. We will move resources behind the scenes to make sure there is no impact on public safety."

Among the measures taken to make sure enough officers are available was the cancellation of some training programs and a slowdown in transfers, Shea said. The NYPD has nearly 35,000 uniformed members.

"We expect to move minimal people around, but will as needed," Shea added.

Officers who want reasonable accommodations to the mandate for religious or medical grounds will still be coming to work, though they must be tested for the virus, according to Shea.

An FDNY official didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the department’s vaccination rate. As of 8 p.m. Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio's office reported that 69% of all FDNY personal had received a shot.

NYC mayor not backing down

Shea’s statements came before the 5 p.m. deadline for city workers to get at least one COVID-19 vaccination. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who ordered the mandate, said Thursday he was not backing off — despite a rally by angry FDNY members and their supporters outside Gracie Mansion.

De Blasio told city employees on Oct. 20 that they must submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination by Oct. 29. Employees who fail to do so may be put on unpaid leave as early as Monday.

Nearly a quarter of city employees had not received the vaccine by Thursday morning, de Blasio said during his daily press briefing, and could be placed on unpaid leave next week.

"I am not having second thoughts," de Blasio said. "We expected that a lot of the vaccinations would happen toward the end of the deadline."

The leaders of FDNY, NYPD and other unions warned that New York would face dire consequences, including shuttered firehouses, mountains of trash and delayed response times, leading to avoidable deaths if the city places unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave.

The mayor said many departments would rely on mandatory overtime from vaccinated employees, while others could see workers move from desk duty.

Court denies PBA's appeal

In a Friday afternoon message, an NYPD union told its members that a judge for the Appellate Division Second Department had denied the Police Benevolent Association's appeal of a lower court's refusal to grant a temporary restraining order on implementing the mandate.

PBA head Patrick Lynch said the case would proceed on the request for a preliminary injunction on Nov.12 related to a request to suspend the mandate while the lawsuit was pending.

"We will continue to fight this case in order to protect the rights of all members impacted by the mandate," Lynch said in his message.

On Long Island, the latest COVID-19 indicators showed the region approaching the 2% level for positivity in testing for the virus.

The seven-day average was 2.08%, continuing a steady drop over the last month and a half after surging during the summer to more than 4% as the delta variant spread. The statewide average was 2.14%, while it dropped to 0.96% in New York City, according to state data released Friday.

The number of new daily confirmed cases was 199 in Nassau County, and 245 in Suffolk County, for a total of 444. The total in New York City was 876.

Across the state, 33 people died on Thursday of causes linked to COVID-19, including two in Nassau and three in Suffolk.

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