Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for New York City employees, including the NYPD, has been blocked by a Manhattan court.

On Tuesday, Judge Frank P. Nervo in the Supreme Court of New York gave notice that the mandate was suspended, pending a hearing scheduled for December 14.

Patricia Finn, an attorney who describes herself on Twitter as “The Good Health Lawyer New Yotk (sic),” launched the legal challenge against the mayor’s mandate. She regularly espouses anti-vaccination views on her social media accounts.

In one Facebook post, Finn wrote: “Please DO NOT support lockdowns for the unvaccinated. It garners support for lockdowns and punishment for whoever these bureaucrats deem ‘dangerous’.”

On October 20, de Blasio imposed the order that required all city employees to have at least their first shot by October 29, or face being suspended without pay. It affected roughly 160,000 employees and was met with much opposition. Police and firefighter union leaders warned that the rule would lead to staff shortages.

New York City has administered more than 12.5 million vaccination doses so far, with 89 percent of adults having had at least one dose. More than 125,000 children aged 5-11 have also had at least one dose. At the height of the pandemic, the city’s 7-day daily average of COVID deaths hit 829 but, on Tuesday, that figure was down to 11 deaths.

On November 1, de Blasio said the city workers mandate was working and vaccination rates had risen to 85 percent for the NYPD, 88 per cent for emergency medical services, 83 percent for the sanitation department and 77 per cent for firefighters.

READ The full article here, published on DEC. 08, 2021