Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for New York City School Employees

 

A federal appeals court judge Friday night temporarily blocked the vaccine mandate for New York City school employees.

A judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday evening granted a temporary injunction and referred the case to a three-judge panel for an “expedited review,” the Associated Press reported.

“We’re confident our vaccine mandate will continue to be upheld once all the facts have been presented, because that is the level of protection our students and staff deserve,” Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Filson told AP.

The FDA in late August granted a full approval to the Pfizer vaccine.

Within minutes of the FDA’s approval, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced that all of the city’s public school employees would be required to get the vaccine by September 27.

De Blasio shrugged off unions representing teachers warning of a teacher shortage if the vaccine mandate went into effect.

“We’ve been planning all along. We have a lot of substitutes ready,” de Blasio said according to AP.