New York City will require police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday, giving an ultimatum to public employees who’ve refused and ensuring a fight with some of the unions representing them.

The mandate affecting the nation’s largest police department and more than 100,000 other Big Apple workers – including trash haulers and building inspectors – carries a November 1 deadline for getting the first vaccine dose, de Blasio announced.

Jailers on Rikers Island, where the city has been grappling with staffing shortages creating unsafe conditions, will be subject to the mandate on December 1.

US prepares to vaccinate 5-11 year old children

The US on Wednesday rolled out a plan to administer Covid-19 vaccines to 28 million children in the 5-11 age group once it’s authorised and recommended by health agencies such as the FDA and the CDC. The FDA meets on October 26 and the CDC on November 2-3 to discuss approving the vaccine, Pfizer-BioNtech’s Comirnaty. Dosage will possibly be adjusted for children.

Yashwant Raj and agencies