Thousands of NYC Firefighters Protest Against Vaccine Mandates at Mayor’s Residence

1 year ago 118

MANHATTAN, N.Y—Thousands of New York firefighters gathered connected Thursday day extracurricular Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, to protestation against the vaccine mandates.

De Blasio precocious imposed a vaccine mandate connected each metropolis workers, saying that it’s for the information of the city.

The featured speakers astatine the rally made their voices heard crossed much than 2 blocks filled with progressive firefighters, retired firefighters, and different supporters.

“Not anti-vaccine, conscionable anti-mandate,” galore of the featured speakers said.

Some of the different supporters were asked to region governmental signs that weren’t focused connected the main cause.

The deadline is Friday astatine 5 p.m. Most of them privation to support working, but immoderate would alternatively discontinue than instrumentality the jabs.

The unions person not been capable to scope a last statement with the mayor. The lone accord arrived astatine was that the firefighters who volition beryllium placed connected permission volition not person their aesculapian and national benefits removed for astatine slightest 30 days.

‘I Already Had COVID-19’

Sean Fitzgerald of Ladder 174 successful East Flatbush, Brooklyn, has been serving successful the New York Fire Department for 16 years.

He doesn’t privation to instrumentality the vaccine due to the fact that helium already got COVID-19 successful February and thinks his earthy immunity is much than capable to fend disconnected the virus.

“Pfizer, it conscionable came retired that aft six months it loses 47 percent of its efficacy. So wherefore americium I going to instrumentality a vaccine erstwhile I already had COVID-19.

“I conscionable had my antibodies checked this past play … truthful I don’t request a vaccine to assistance my assemblage ward disconnected specified a virus.

“If this microorganism is truthful deadly, truthful contagious, past wherefore are the radical that are enactment into powerfulness and elected into powerfulness to tally our nation—especially during times of crisis—why did they exempt themselves from the shot? Shouldn’t they beryllium the archetypal ones to get the shot?

“I deliberation that the concern pharmaceutical analyzable is larger than thing else, and it trumps all. And what I would similar to see, I would similar an enquiry into each elected official’s concern accounts to spot their holdings. Are they holding Moderna [stocks]? When did they acquisition Moderna? Are they inactive holding it? When did they bargain Pfizer, J&J? Because determination is simply a monetary constituent to them to this from their side.”

He thinks that determination “absolutely” is simply a nexus betwixt the politicians and Big Pharma. “It’s communal sense” helium added, “why other would they beryllium pushing this vaccine?”

“Dr. Fauci repeatedly tells the state to ‘trust the science.’ I consciousness that earthy immunity and the improvement of antibodies are not being accepted arsenic ‘science.’ It is perfectly contradictory due to the fact that it does not further the narrative.”

The city’s erstwhile argumentation was to necessitate play COVID-19 testing, but that has present been terminated and replaced with the vaccine mandate.

“We conscionable wrapped up a period of self-testing successful the occurrence house, play testing. And [in] the numbers that came retired 2 weeks ago, 6,000 tests were administered and lone 54 were positive.

“Unfortunately, we mislaid 1 firefighter to COVID-19. But there’s implicit 10,000 uniformed members. And we were operating 24/7, 365 days. We ne'er worked erstwhile via zoom league from our homes. We responded to hundreds of hundreds of thousands of runs, interacting straight with the public, the infected public, successful their homes.”

He clarified that 7 different deaths reported successful the media were not firefighters, but exigency aesculapian services members nether the aforesaid umbrella of the FDNY.

‘No Money successful Natural Immunity’

One firefighter who works for the section astatine an administrative level told The Epoch Times nether the information of anonymity that helium believes determination is an effort to propulsion the vaccine for monetary reasons.

When asked if helium believes determination is simply a transportation betwixt politicians mandating the vaccine and pharmaceutical companies, helium replied “absolutely, and it shows conscionable the selling quality of the mainstream media,” helium answered.

“I deliberation there’s nary wealth successful earthy immunity. It’s each astir follow[ing] the money. And if the Pfizer and Moderna shots, their efficacy is dropping 22 percent each 30 days, anybody that took the changeable 5 months agone is nearing zero extortion anyway. It’s giving them a mendacious consciousness of security,” helium said.

‘We Went From Heroes to Zeros’

Firefighter Michael Salcedo said: “You can’t unit radical to instrumentality thing that they don’t privation to take. We person earthy immunity, which is stronger than this vaccine. Let america person the prime of saying yes oregon no. It’s our right.”

Salcedo said that if the mandate is not overturned, helium and his peers volition locomotion out.

During the pandemic, they were mandated to enactment and they each performed their duties.

“We were mandated to enactment and we each came to enactment and we did the close thing. And we were needed then and we were applauded then. And now we went from heroes to zeros. Now they conscionable privation to get escaped of us because they privation to mandate thing that we don’t judge in. It’s our prime to accidental yes oregon no, it’s not their prime to archer america what to enactment successful our bodies.

“You could inactive dispersed COVID and get COVID and get sick portion you’re vaccinated. So to me, that’s not a bully vaccine,” Salcedo noted.

Many ‘Are Going to Retire’

Steve Rogers is simply a 38-year seasoned that works for Ladder 1.

“These mandates are ridiculous. Most of the guys that aren’t vaccinated person the antibodies and they could beryllium tested weekly. But instead, the metropolis and the politician privation to propulsion for the mandates, and marque guys spell connected permission without pay,” helium said.

“Many guys are going to discontinue and a batch of guys are going to instrumentality permission without pay.

“It’s gonna permission the occurrence section precise short-staffed and you’re gonna suffer each the elder men and the elder officers, which is precise dangerous.

“If each these members spell connected permission without pay, they’re going to person to adjacent multiple, aggregate firehouses each night, which is simply a information to the city, arsenic acold arsenic fires. Also, arsenic acold arsenic EMS runs, radical telephone for a bosom attack, and alternatively of radical responding wrong 5 minutes, they’ll beryllium determination successful 20 minutes. Very, precise dangerous.”

Rogers clarified that helium personally is not readying to retire.

‘Freedom is Paramount’

Kieran Burke is simply a retired fireman that worked for the metropolis for 23 years.

“I’m present contiguous to enactment my chap metropolis workers, and the citizens of this city, and those that travel to sojourn this city. Because their information is going to beryllium successful superior peril if they spell done with this and arbitrarily fire thousands and thousands of highly trained and experienced exigency work professionals, teachers, nurses, sanitation professionals, and truthful on.

“I americium personally vaccinated, my prime was that I was going to get vaccinated. But each idiosyncratic has a antithetic mounting successful their lives that dictate what they bash medically and otherwise.

“This is the United States of America. Freedom is paramount. This is the United States of America. This full full federation is predicated connected freedom,” Burke added.

Right to Union Representation

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro told media outlets earlier successful the time that helium had instructed his members to study for work careless of vaccination status, defying the mandate.

He told The Epoch Times that the authorities is not allowing earthy immunity to beryllium a origin successful the vaccine mandates.

“You volition not find a doc that disagrees with earthy immunity. Everyone whitethorn person a abstracted opinion, but up until a fewer weeks ago, the CDC said you should not get a vaccination wrong 90 days of being infected.”

Ansbro represents astir 8,400 progressive firefighters and 11,000 retired firefighters.

“No 1 volition archer you that this vaccine stops you from getting infected. I was vaccinated the archetypal day, my woman was vaccinated. My woman contracted COVID and gave it to me, this mandate does not halt the dispersed of the Delta variant oregon a batch of the variants. This vaccine is not 100 percent effective.”

“We judge our members person a close to choose. And we besides judge that our members person a close to beryllium represented by their national and archer the mayor, ‘you person to beryllium down with america and negociate the presumption of this,'” Ansbro said.

He said that astir 45 percent of the unit had not been vaccinated a fewer weeks agone and astir 70 percent had contracted the microorganism astatine immoderate constituent and gained earthy immunity. For those that had not gained earthy immunity oregon gotten vaccinated, helium recommended that they get the shot.

‘The Safest Thing to Do Would Be to Test’

Uniformed Firefighters Association Vice President Bobby Eustace said each they privation is to person a choice.

“The magnitude of vulnerability that our members person had, combined with the magnitude of members that are vaccinated, and the fig of members that are presently sick—there conscionable truly isn’t that overmuch of a threat. And if you truly wanted to support radical safe, you would trial them. It’s not taboo anymore that vaccinated radical get COVID,” Eustace said.

“And vaccinated radical that person COVID tin dispersed it to different people, some vaccinated unvaccinated, truthful the safest happening to bash would beryllium to trial them, right? But we don’t bash that due to the fact that it costs a batch of money.”

“They issued 1 investigating for 1 week of the occurrence department. They got astir 45 to 60 members affirmative retired of astir 5,200 members.”

“A fraction was positive—a fraction—and they lone tested the unvaccinated, not adjacent the vaccinated, and past they stopped due to the fact that the wealth was excessively much. What does that archer you?” Eustace said.

The Epoch Times reached retired to the mayor’s bureau for comment.

Enrico Trigoso