A group of New York City public school teachers has petitioned the United States Supreme Court to intervene and prevent the city's vaccination requirement from taking effect on Friday at 5 p.m.
Teachers File a Petition
In a recently published article in Newsweek, the petition asks Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor to grant an emergency injunction barring the requirement, which they say would put thousands of public school workers out of work if it is not repealed.
Thousands of unvaccinated public school employees will lose their jobs as a result of Mayor Bill de Blasio's order, according to the petition; while other municipal employees, including those who have significant contact with children, are allowed to opt-out of the vaccine mandate through weekly COVID-19 testing.
The new legal challenge comes just days after a federal court ruled in favor of de Blasio's vaccine mandate, lifting a temporary halt on the requirement in the nation's biggest public school system, according to a report published in NBC New York.
Court's Ruling of Vaccine Mandate
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned last week's injunction and rejected the initial request or petition on Monday evening, clearing the way for the city to begin requiring vaccinations of school employees on October 4, according to a report in News Nation.
The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will rule in the same way. Plaintiffs have no legitimate claims, according to a spokesman for the mayor's office, and have indicated no grounds for the Court's involvement. He also said that the Department of Health and Human Services has the power to carry out a mission that is based on research and the experience of public health professionals from around the country.
According to de Blasio, 7,000 teachers and school workers in the city's public schools got vaccinations on Friday and Saturday alone. As of Monday, 87 percent of the city's school employees had gotten at least one dosage of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Shortage of Teachers
The teachers' unions have claimed that the vaccine requirement may result in a 10,000-teacher shortfall; however, the mayor has said that New York City has an abundance of vaccinated substitute teachers ready to replace their jobs anytime.
The City Mayor said, "We have a lot of substitute teachers, a lot of young people in particular who want to go into the teaching profession, who are ready, willing and able, who are vaccinated, who are going to take those roles immediately," according to a published article in Daily Mail.
He also said that the city would gladly welcome back instructors who changed their views about vaccinations and were vaccinated after the order took effect; but if they reject and continue to refuse, they would be unable to return to their positions and be with their children.
Important Contents of the Petition
Unvaccinated teachers said in Thursday's petition that they should be offered the option of regular COVID-19 testing instead of being vaccinated, particularly because a significant percentage of instructors are already vaccinated.
Other municipal workers may be protected in various settings by social distance, mask-wearing, and testing, according to the petition, especially since at least a fraction of this personnel are vaccinated.
However, de Blasio said that vaccine mandates are one of the most effective methods to raise vaccination rates. After Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccine requirement for the city's health system went into force this week, vaccinations among New York City's healthcare professionals rose from 85 percent to 92 percent in the previous week.
Related Article: New York Vaccine Mandate Goes Into Effect, Forcing Healthcare Workers To Get Inoculated Amid Staffing Shortages
