Chicago Will Require All City Workers to Be Vaccinated, Mayor Says

U.S.|Chicago volition necessitate metropolis workers to beryllium vaccinated, the politician says.

• Aug. 25, 2021, 2:42 p.m. ET

Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago said connected Wednesday that each metropolis employees volition beryllium person to beryllium afloat vaccinated by Oct. 15. The enactment by the city, the second-largest successful the United States to enforce specified a requirement, came arsenic coronavirus infections proceed to dispersed rapidly crossed the country.

The argumentation volition use to much than 30,000 employees, including teachers, constabulary officers, firefighters and sanitation workers. Employees whitethorn use for a aesculapian oregon spiritual exemption.

“As cases of Covid-19 proceed to rise, we indispensable instrumentality each measurement indispensable and astatine our disposal to support everyone successful our metropolis harmless and healthy,” Ms. Lightfoot said successful a statement. “Getting vaccinated has been proven to beryllium the champion mode to execute that and marque it imaginable to retrieve from this devastating pandemic. And so, we person decided to articulation different municipalities and authorities agencies crossed the nation, including the U.S. military, who are making this determination to support the radical who are keeping our cities and state moving.”

The Los Angeles City Council passed a akin vaccine mandate past week for the city’s astir 60,000 municipal workers (the nationalist schools determination are not portion of the metropolis government). Los Angeles County and the metropolis of Seattle person besides adopted mandates.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that teachers and different schoolhouse employees volition beryllium required to beryllium vaccinated, and different metropolis employees indispensable either beryllium vaccinated oregon taxable to play coronavirus tests.

The Food and Drug Administration granted afloat support connected Monday to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for radical 16 and older, making the vaccine the archetypal to determination beyond emergency-use presumption successful the United States.

Ms. Lightfoot, whose medication has had a rocky narration with large labour unions, is expected to look absorption from their members, peculiarly successful the national representing constabulary officers. She said connected Wednesday that her medication was successful conversations with labour unions to “create a vaccination argumentation that is workable, just and effective.”

The Fraternal Order of Police successful Chicago said earlier this week that it opposed a mandate and was awaiting much accusation from the mayor’s office.

Bob Reiter, the president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, which represents national members successful Chicago and Cook County, said that portion unions judge successful the benefits of vaccination, “we bash not judge punitive mandates are the close way to importantly summation vaccine uptake.”

“We judge this announcement whitethorn harden absorption to the vaccine, alternatively of protecting the workers who person sacrificed truthful overmuch implicit the past 18 months,” Mr. Reiter said successful an email.

Nearly 64 percent of Chicago residents property 12 and older person been afloat vaccinated; nationwide, 60 percent of Americans 12 and older person been afloat vaccinated.