Reprinted with permission from Alternet

On Thursday the union representing 50,000 current and former New York City Police Dept. officers claimed Mayor de Blasio's vaccine mandate would force "10,000" officers off the streets. According to the NYPD Police Commissioner, that number is actually just 34.

"NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea noted that only 34 police officers have been placed on unpaid leave," AM NY reports, noting across all NYC employees, there are "12,000 unvaccinated city workers" who "have applied for medical or religious exemption, which will be worked on in the coming days."

That vaccine mandate required proof of just one shot, and provided in return a $500 bonus for getting vaccinated. "The total of New York City workers that have been vaccinated is currently at 91percent."

In total, "9,000 city employees," including the 34 police officers and 40 civilian members of the NYPD, "have not yet been vaccinated and have been placed on leave without [pay] as of November 1, which is less than six percent of the entire city workforce at 378,000."

The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York in a statement had claimed the vaccine mandate was "arbitrary," its rollout "chaotic," and "the NYPD brass is completely unprepared for the staffing shortage that will result from the mandate's haphazard implementation."

The PBA concluded, "Now cops and New Yorkers are all wondering: what exactly will happen with the vaccine deadline strikes?"