Editor's note: Find Firehouse.com's complete coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here.
A new department order from FDNY's top officials will not require firefighters or EMS personnel to take new COVID-19 vaccine.
“Vaccination will NOT be mandatory, but the Department recommends that members consider the overall benefits,” stated the policy sent out by Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro and Chief of Department John Sudnik, according to the New York Post.
An FDNY spokesman told the newspaper that the fire department cannot force employees to take any vaccines.
FDNY officials believe they will be able to administer the vaccines in mid-December.
“Members should take the opportunity to get the vaccine if it makes them feel safer, but it should be an individual choice,” said Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics and Inspectors.
“Unvaccinated first-responders have the potential for being carriers, and therefore can infect others — from the firehouse to the public at large, including our most vulnerable citizens,” an unnamed FDNY member told the New York Post. “The public has no way of knowing who took the vaccine and who didn’t. You could be Typhoid Mary … Imagine a crew going into a nursing home, and three or four are not vaccinated. They could spread it to everybody and kill people.”
Several FDNY members died from COVID-19 earlier this year, including: Mechanic James Villecco, EMT John Redd, Deputy Chief Inspector Syed Rahman, Supervising Fire Inspector Edward Mungin, EMT Idris Bey and Watch Commander Gregory Hodge.
