Federal appeals court panel allows New York City teacher vaccine mandate to proceed News
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Federal appeals court panel allows New York City teacher vaccine mandate to proceed

A panel of three judges from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit lifted Monday a temporary injunction that halted a New York City mandate requiring all teachers to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

A preliminary injunction on the mandate was denied on Thursday, but a temporary injunction pending expedited review by the three court panel was granted on Friday.

The mandate was announced August 23 and set to begin on Monday. In the press release for the mandate, NYC mayor Bill de Blasio stated that all Department of Education staff are required to have at least one vaccine dose by September 27.

The teachers that filed the appeal to block the mandate argued in part that they would face imminent and irreparable harm without the injunction because their refusal to comply with the mandate requires the city to place them on unpaid leave for nearly a full year. They stated: “Appellees, who have a civic responsibility to protect public school workers, instead have put forth an executive order that will, in effect, leave teachers and paraprofessionals without the resources to pay rent, utilities, and other essentials. The harm is imminent.”

New York City also requires vaccinations for all new hires by the city, per an executive order by de Blasio on August 17. New York state requires hospital and long-term care facility workers to be vaccinated by September 27 per Section 16 orders issued by the State Department of Health.