(POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Okla.) — Joe Exotic, the larger-than-life Netflix star from the hit show “Tiger King: Murder Mayhem and Madness,” is speaking out from prison a month after being re-sentenced for a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin and for violating the Lacy Act and Endangered Species Act.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was resentenced to 21 years in prison on charges of perpetrating the murder-for-hire scheme and for the killing and selling of tigers.
During his trial, it was alleged he had hired a hit man for $3,000 to travel from Oklahoma to Florida to murder Baskin. Separately, it was alleged he tried again to hire a hit man for $10,000 to murder Baskin in December 2017, but that person was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Exotic has adamantly maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal the conviction.
“How can you even expect somebody to go from Oklahoma to Florida to scope her out, however long that would take and back, on $3,000? That is absurd,” Joe Exotic told ABC News during a phone interview from Pottawatomie County Jail.
He added that he’s hoping to submit a motion for a new trial as early as this week.
Released on March 20, 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, millions tuned in to the seven-part docuseries that chronicled the life of Joe Exotic, the owner of the G.W. Zoo, where he imported and bred big cats.
In the nearly two years since the series was released, Netflix reports that the series has been streamed by 64 million viewers.
Exotic claims he’s not one of them.
“I have not seen nothing,” said Joe Exotic. “Look, I have received and answered back over 11,000 letters, but every letter told me — I get letters from 8-year-old kids to 95-year-old grandmothers — and every letter says it’s because I was unapologetic.”
“I stood up for what I believed in and because I’m not ashamed of who I am,” he added.
Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue in Florida, had accused Exotic of animal abuse and ignited a long-standing dispute that bankrupted Exotic and his zoo.
Joe Exotic denied ever treating his animals badly.
“What are they calling treating animals badly? Keeping them in cages?” said Exotic. “If people saw my videos on the YouTube channel, I walk in a cage with 24 full-grown tigers and lions at a time. Do you think if I abuse them, they would allow that?”
The series also sparked interest in the cold case of the disappearance of Baskin’s ex-husband, Don Lewis.
Since Lewis’ disappearance in 1997, authorities have not identified any suspects and his body has never been found. During the series, Exotic claimed that Baskin fed Lewis to her tigers, a claim that Baskin has repeatedly denied.
While in custody, Exotic aimed to author a tell-all memoir that set the record straight, but said he was disappointed by the final product.
“Keep in mind, I didn’t promote that book because they edited my whole story… I’m disgusted by the way I’ve been exploited,” he said. “Get on the internet and Google ‘Joe Exotic’ and hit the shop button and look, everybody in the world is making money off of me, but me.”
Exotic is also dealing with early-stage prostate cancer while in prison. He had petitioned a judge last month to reduce his sentence based on the disease, but the term was only lessened from 22 years to 21.
“I’m losing weight real bad and the sores in my mouth are unbearable to live with all the time,” said Exotic. “But you know, in the three and a half years that I’ve been in custody, I’ve been taken to the hospital 43 times.”
Even while incarcerated, Exotic maintains a cult following. He said he wants his fans to keep up the support.
“They have seen the show. They’ve seen the characters. They’ve seen my lawyers provide some of the evidence. All I can say to them is keep believing in me,” said Exotic. “I’m not going to let you down. I love each and every one of you people.”
(PHOENIX) — Five Phoenix police officers were shot and injured, and a woman was shot and killed during an early morning barricade situation, the department said.
All of the police officers’ injuries were non-life-threatening, police said.
The incident began when officers were called to a home where a woman was reported shot, Phoenix police said.
When an officer approached to help, the suspect, an adult man, invited the officer inside, said Phoenix police spokesman Andy Williams.
As the officer approached the door, “the suspect ambushed him with a gun and shot him several times,” Williams said. “That officer was able to get back and get away to safety.”
“Other backup officers arrived on scene and they surrounded the home and began calling out the occupants,” Williams said.
Then another man — not the suspect — came out of the house holding a baby girl, police said. The man put the baby on the ground and walked to police where he was detained.
When officers went to bring the baby to safety, the suspect again opened fire from inside the house, shooting four more officers,
Four other officers were indirectly injured when they were struck by shrapnel, police said.
The suspect then barricaded himself in the home, police said.
Extremely active scene near 51st and W Elwood in Phoenix. We heard several gunshots and saw a chopper over head with its spotlight on when we arrived. @PhoenixPolice on scene and asking public to avoid area. Our photographer saw at least one officer shot @abc15pic.twitter.com/uV10rLNig5
Once the scene was secured, police said they found the suspect dead inside.
The woman who was the first reported to be shot was found in extremely critical condition inside the home, police said. Hours later, police said she died from her injuries. The woman appeared to be the suspect’s former girlfriend, police said.
The baby appeared to be OK, police added.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted, “Please continue to pray for the five @PhoenixPolice officers injured this morning. Our men and women in blue work day and night—no matter the circumstances—to protect our state from danger.”
He added, “My office is working closely with the Phoenix Police Department to get updates on the situation and the officers’ conditions.”
Other police departments are also speaking out.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown tweeted that his department “stands with our brothers and sisters of the Phoenix Police.”
ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr and Alyssa Pone contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 915,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.3% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 11, 3:10 pm
Pfizer delays request for vaccine for kids under 5
Pfizer said it has postponed its application to the FDA to expand the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5.
Pfizer instead will continue with its study on the three-dose vaccine and seek authorization when that data is available.
“We believe additional information regarding the ongoing evaluation of a third dose should be considered as part of our decision-making for potential authorization,” Pfizer said.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, told reporters Friday, “We realized now, in data that came in very rapidly because of the large number of cases of omicron, that at this time, it makes sense for us to wait until we have the data from the evaluation of a third dose before taking action.”
Marks acknowledged that the change was “late breaking” — the FDA’s committee of independent advisers was scheduled to review and vote on authorizing the vaccine next week — but said the job of the FDA was to “adjust” to new data amid an unpredictable virus.
“The data that we saw made us realize that we needed to see data from a third dose as in the ongoing trial in order to make the term determination that we could proceed with doing an authorization,” Marks said.
Pfizer has predicted it will be able to submit data on the third dose in early April.
-ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss, Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 11, 3:07 pm
FDA authorizes new monoclonal treatment that works against omicron
The FDA has authorized a new monoclonal antibody treatment from Eli Lilly called bebtelovimab, which has shown to hold up against omicron and the BA.2 subvariant.
As with other monoclonal therapies, this is for COVID-19 patients early on in their infection who are at high risk for getting severely ill, to help keep them from getting sicker and help keep them out of the hospital.
The Biden administration said it has purchased 600,000 doses for roughly $720 million in anticipation of bebtelovimab getting an emergency use authorization from the FDA.
The plan is to get about 300,000 doses this month and another 300,000 in March. The contract also includes a future option for 500,000 more doses if necessary.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Feb 11, 1:55 pm
Pfizer delays request for vaccine for kids under 5
Pfizer said it has postponed its application to the FDA to expand the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5.
Pfizer instead will continue with its study on the three-dose vaccine and seek authorization when that data is available.
“We believe additional information regarding the ongoing evaluation of a third dose should be considered as part of our decision-making for potential authorization,” Pfizer said.
FDA independent advisors will no longer meet on Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss
Feb 11, 12:09 pm
US cases at lowest point since Christmas
The daily case average in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest point since Christmas, with the nation now reporting an average of 215,000 new cases each day — a 71% drop in the last three weeks, according to federal data.
However, even with the declines, nearly 99% of U.S. counties are reporting high transmission. Also, many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.
U.S. hospitalization rates are also declining.
On average, about 12,100 Americans are being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 each day, down by about 25% in the last week, according to federal data.
The national average continues to plateau around 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths per day.
Feb 11, 6:56 am
New York City’s unvaccinated workers face termination
About 3,000 municipal workers in New York City — less than 1% of the city’s workforce — face termination Friday after refusing to abide by a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The requirement, established under former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, applies to municipal employees hired after Aug. 2, 2021, who were told to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment and to unvaccinated police officers, correction officers, firefighters and others who opted to forego city health benefits and are currently on leave because they are not vaccinated.
The mandate achieved a vaccination rate among municipal workers of more than 95%. A number of exceptions were approved in recent months.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that some workers initially facing termination had submitted their proof of vaccination, so the final number wasn’t yet clear. He reiterated that the stragglers aren’t being fired but are “quitting.”
“The responsibility is clear,” Adams told reporters Thursday. “We said it. If you were hired, you get this job, you have to be vaccinated. If you are not following the rules, you are making that decision. You are making the decision that you are not going to follow the rules of getting vaccinated. And that is a decision they are making.”
“I want them to stay, I want them to be employees of the city,” he added. “But they have to follow the rules.”
-ABC News’ Mark Crudele and Aaron Katersky
Feb 10, 3:24 pm
1st vaccine shipments for kids under 5 could be as soon as Feb. 21, pending FDA authorization
The first vaccine shipments for children under 5 could arrive at pediatricians’ doors as soon as Feb. 21, according to a planning guide sent to states from federal health officials and obtained by ABC News.
Doses can ship once the FDA signs off.
The FDA’s independent advisory committee will meet on Tuesday and after that the FDA can issue an emergency use authorization.
The CDC’s independent advisory panel is expected to meet within days of the FDA’s authorization. Once the CDC signs off on its panel’s recommendations, vaccinations for kids under 5 can start.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Feb 10, 2:18 pm
Walensky: Difficult to release guidance that works everywhere from NYC to rural Montana
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged that it’s tough to make national guidelines to ease restrictions that will fit every different city and town.
“One of the challenging pieces has been how we make guidance that is general enough so that it can be applied to New York City and rural Montana and Indian country, which is our responsibility, and yet have it be specific enough so that people can get their questions answered,” Walensky said in a webinar in hosted by the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project.
Looking to the future, Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said “Obviously the hope is — and I think it’s probably the 90% scenario — is that we’re going to now move into a period where … the virus becomes endemic. And we will be living alongside it probably in a period where we will start to get yearly boosters for it.”
But Dr. Sara Oliver, an epidemic intelligence service officer for the CDC, noted that, although there’s a drop in cases, the same hasn’t happened yet in hospitals.
“It’s difficult to envision a time point where we can say COVID is over if we’re still in a time period where our hospitals and ICUs are feeling the strain,” Oliver said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 10, 1:51 pm
Nevada lifting indoor mask mandate, including for schools
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday announced an immediate end to the state’s indoor mask mandate — including for schools — citing a rapid decline in cases and a drop in hospitalizations.
“Teachers & schools will no longer be required to wear masks but school districts will need to work with their local health authorities to have plans in place to deal with outbreaks,” the governor tweeted.
He added, “Employers and organizations, including school districts, may set their own policies, and I encourage them to work with their employees and communities to ensure that policies are in place.”
Masks in Nevada will only be required on public transit per federal law, or in special facilities like hospitals or long-term care facilities.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 915,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.3% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 11, 1:55 pm
Pfizer delays request for vaccine for kids under 5
Pfizer said it has postponed its application to the FDA to expand the use of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5.
Pfizer instead will continue with its study on the three-dose vaccine and seek authorization when that data is available.
“We believe additional information regarding the ongoing evaluation of a third dose should be considered as part of our decision-making for potential authorization,” Pfizer said.
FDA independent advisors will no longer meet on Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss
Feb 11, 12:09 pm
US cases at lowest point since Christmas
The daily case average in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest point since Christmas, with the nation now reporting an average of 215,000 new cases each day — a 71% drop in the last three weeks, according to federal data.
However, even with the declines, nearly 99% of U.S. counties are reporting high transmission. Also, many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.
U.S. hospitalization rates are also declining.
On average, about 12,100 Americans are being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 each day, down by about 25% in the last week, according to federal data.
The national average continues to plateau around 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths per day.
Feb 11, 6:56 am
New York City’s unvaccinated workers face termination
About 3,000 municipal workers in New York City — less than 1% of the city’s workforce — face termination Friday after refusing to abide by a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The requirement, established under former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, applies to municipal employees hired after Aug. 2, 2021, who were told to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment and to unvaccinated police officers, correction officers, firefighters and others who opted to forego city health benefits and are currently on leave because they are not vaccinated.
The mandate achieved a vaccination rate among municipal workers of more than 95%. A number of exceptions were approved in recent months.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that some workers initially facing termination had submitted their proof of vaccination, so the final number wasn’t yet clear. He reiterated that the stragglers aren’t being fired but are “quitting.”
“The responsibility is clear,” Adams told reporters Thursday. “We said it. If you were hired, you get this job, you have to be vaccinated. If you are not following the rules, you are making that decision. You are making the decision that you are not going to follow the rules of getting vaccinated. And that is a decision they are making.”
“I want them to stay, I want them to be employees of the city,” he added. “But they have to follow the rules.”
-ABC News’ Mark Crudele and Aaron Katersky
Feb 10, 3:24 pm
1st vaccine shipments for kids under 5 could be as soon as Feb. 21, pending FDA authorization
The first vaccine shipments for children under 5 could arrive at pediatricians’ doors as soon as Feb. 21, according to a planning guide sent to states from federal health officials and obtained by ABC News.
Doses can ship once the FDA signs off.
The FDA’s independent advisory committee will meet on Tuesday and after that the FDA can issue an emergency use authorization.
The CDC’s independent advisory panel is expected to meet within days of the FDA’s authorization. Once the CDC signs off on its panel’s recommendations, vaccinations for kids under 5 can start.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Feb 10, 2:18 pm
Walensky: Difficult to release guidance that works everywhere from NYC to rural Montana
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged that it’s tough to make national guidelines to ease restrictions that will fit every different city and town.
“One of the challenging pieces has been how we make guidance that is general enough so that it can be applied to New York City and rural Montana and Indian country, which is our responsibility, and yet have it be specific enough so that people can get their questions answered,” Walensky said in a webinar in hosted by the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project.
Looking to the future, Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said “Obviously the hope is — and I think it’s probably the 90% scenario — is that we’re going to now move into a period where … the virus becomes endemic. And we will be living alongside it probably in a period where we will start to get yearly boosters for it.”
But Dr. Sara Oliver, an epidemic intelligence service officer for the CDC, noted that, although there’s a drop in cases, the same hasn’t happened yet in hospitals.
“It’s difficult to envision a time point where we can say COVID is over if we’re still in a time period where our hospitals and ICUs are feeling the strain,” Oliver said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 10, 1:51 pm
Nevada lifting indoor mask mandate, including for schools
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday announced an immediate end to the state’s indoor mask mandate — including for schools — citing a rapid decline in cases and a drop in hospitalizations.
“Teachers & schools will no longer be required to wear masks but school districts will need to work with their local health authorities to have plans in place to deal with outbreaks,” the governor tweeted.
He added, “Employers and organizations, including school districts, may set their own policies, and I encourage them to work with their employees and communities to ensure that policies are in place.”
Masks in Nevada will only be required on public transit per federal law, or in special facilities like hospitals or long-term care facilities.
(PHOENIX) — Five Phoenix police officers were shot and four others were hurt by shrapnel during an early morning barricade situation at a house, the department said.
All injuries are non-life-threatening, police said.
The incident began when officers were called to a home where a woman was reported shot, Phoenix police said.
When an officer approached to help, the suspect, an adult man, invited the officer inside, said Phoenix police spokesman Andy Williams.
As the officer approached the door, “the suspect ambushed him with a gun and shot him several times,” Williams said. “That officer was able to get back and get away to safety.”
“Other backup officers arrived on scene and they surrounded the home and began calling out the occupants,” Williams said.
Then another man — not the suspect — came out of the house holding a baby girl, police said. The man put the baby on the ground and walked to police where he was detained.
When officers went to bring the baby to safety, the suspect again opened fire from inside the house, shooting four more officers and indirectly injuring four other officers with shrapnel, police said.
The baby appears to be OK, police added.
The suspect then barricaded himself in the home, police said.
Once the scene was secured police said they found the suspect dead inside.
The woman who was the first reported to be shot was found in extremely critical condition inside the home, police said. She appears to be the suspect’s former girlfriend, police said.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted, “Please continue to pray for the five @PhoenixPolice officers injured this morning. Our men and women in blue work day and night—no matter the circumstances—to protect our state from danger.”
He added, “My office is working closely with the Phoenix Police Department to get updates on the situation and the officers’ conditions.”
Other police departments are also speaking out.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown tweeted that his department “stands with our brothers and sisters of the Phoenix Police.”
(PHOENIX) — Five Phoenix police officers were shot during an early morning barricade situation at a house, the department said.
Phoenix police said they were called to a home where a woman was reported shot.
When an officer approached to help, the suspect immediately opened fire, striking the officer multiple times, police said. That officer was able to get away to safety, police said.
Then a man came out of the house holding a baby, police said. The man put the baby on the ground and walked to police where he was detained.
When officers went to bring the baby to safety, the suspect again opened fire from inside the house, hitting four more officers, police said.
The suspect then barricaded himself in the home, police said. Once the scene was secured police said they found the suspect dead inside.
The woman who was the first reported to be shot was found critically hurt inside the home, police said.
Besides the five officers shot, at least three other officers were injured by bullet shrapnel, police said.
The conditions of the five officers shot were not immediately clear. Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams told reporters, “One of them is seriously hurt but is on the road to recovery.”
(PHILADELPHIA) — Six people were stabbed in a Philadelphia home early Friday in what police are calling a “very violent scene.”
Police received a 911 call just after 4 a.m. reporting a stabbing and responding officers found the victims, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters.
Three were hospitalized in critical condition and three were in stable condition, according to Philadelphia police.
Small said there were two bloody knives and one of the knives “is actually broken, which goes to show how violently these individuals were being stabbed.”
The “very violent scene” was “all on the second floor in the three bedrooms of this private residence,” Small said. “There’s blood on the floor, there’s blood on the walls, on the doors. The door to the master bedroom is completely knocked off its hinges.”
Police found the suspect “covered with blood” on a street and “he immediately surrendered,” Small said.
Police said the victims in critical condition were a 30-year-old woman stabbed multiple times in the back; a 32-year-old woman stabbed multiple times in the arms and chest; and a 49-year-old woman stabbed multiple times in the neck, head and back.
In stable condition were a 26-year-old man stabbed in the chest and back; a 57-year-old man stabbed in the forehead; and a 55-year-old woman stabbed in arm, police said.
So far there is no motive, Small said.
The suspect was positively identified by some of the family members, including some of the victims, and was taken to a hospital to be treated for cuts to his hands, Small said.
NYCHA program manager Jordan Bonomo speaks with Ginger Zee of ABC News about the heat pumps being used as part of the pilot program taking place at the Fort Independence Houses in the Bronx borough of New York. – ABC News
(NEW YORK) — As cities across the country work to meet clean energy goals in the coming years, a critical focus is being placed on public and affordable housing.
There are more than 1.2 million public housing units across the country, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many of these buildings have aging heating and cooling equipment that is largely inefficient, resulting in expensive utility bills.
Low-income households spend three times more income on energy bills than those living above the poverty line, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Not only are these systems expensive, they also rely on fossil fuels, making them significant sources of greenhouse gases — any gas that absorbs heat and radiates it back at the Earth, causing global warming.
In America’s largest city, New York, more than 80% of low-income housing relies on old boilers fueled by natural gas, propane or oil. The New York City Housing Authority oversees more than 170,000 units and is the largest landlord in the city. The agency is looking to the future, and is required by law to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. To tackle that goal, NYCHA is beginning to address a long-standing problem with energy in its buildings.
The boiler at the Fort Independence Houses in the Bronx, home to more than 700 residents, broke at the end of 2021. The building was built in 1971 and people have had a difficult time staying warm this winter.
“I have my socks on. I have a T-shirt. I have sweatpants,” said resident Lauren White. “I have another sweatshirt and I have a hood, and sometimes I put the scarf around my neck so that I could be warm.”
NYCHA brought in a temporary mobile boiler to provide heat for residents in the complex while the building’s boiler, which is 18 years old, is being repaired. NYCHA told ABC News that repairing the equipment and finding the parts takes time.
Unfortunately, this energy problem is not unique. Heating outages have been reported in low-income housing from Brooklyn to Queens this winter. Tragically, 17 people, including eight children, died last month in a fire started by a space heater in a privately owned building in the Bronx.
NYCHA, the city’s public housing agency, is currently testing a pilot program at the Fort Independence Houses using electric heat pumps inside seven units. Jordan Bonomo, the program manager overseeing the electrification of NYCHA’s properties, said that heat pumps are like air conditioners that can work in both directions.
“In the winter, [the heat pump] goes into heating mode and takes heat from outside even though it’s cold,” said Bonomo. “I know it feels cold, but there’s actually heat here and it transfers inside.”
NYCHA said the heat pumps are six times as efficient as the old boiler system.
Heat pumps can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% compared to natural gas alternatives, according to a study from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the University of California. This is because heat pumps don’t need to use fossil fuels to generate heat, they just transport heat.
If the new heat pump technology is successful, it will deploy the new technology to more than 50,000 apartments over the next 10 years, according to NYCHA. But even that effort will only impact 30% of NYCHA properties.
John Rogers, an energy expert from the Union of Concerned Scientists, told ABC News that heat pumps were not previously an option in very cold climates, but that technology is now changing.
“I think what we need is to be looking to the building owners and building managers and the government — the city, the state and federal level — to be driving us in the direction of truly clean energy, of which energy efficiency is a huge piece,” said Rogers.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 915,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.3% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 11, 6:56 am
New York City’s unvaccinated workers face termination
About 3,000 municipal workers in New York City — less than 1% of the city’s workforce — face termination Friday after refusing to abide by a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The requirement, established under former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, applies to municipal employees hired after Aug. 2, 2021, who were told to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment and to unvaccinated police officers, correction officers, firefighters and others who opted to forego city health benefits and are currently on leave because they are not vaccinated.
The mandate achieved a vaccination rate among municipal workers of more than 95%. A number of exceptions were approved in recent months.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that some workers initially facing termination had submitted their proof of vaccination, so the final number wasn’t yet clear. He reiterated that the stragglers aren’t being fired but are “quitting.”
“The responsibility is clear,” Adams told reporters Thursday. “We said it. If you were hired, you get this job, you have to be vaccinated. If you are not following the rules, you are making that decision. You are making the decision that you are not going to follow the rules of getting vaccinated. And that is a decision they are making.”
“I want them to stay, I want them to be employees of the city,” he added. “But they have to follow the rules.”
-ABC News’ Mark Crudele and Aaron Katersky
Feb 10, 3:24 pm
1st vaccine shipments for kids under 5 could be as soon as Feb. 21, pending FDA authorization
The first vaccine shipments for children under 5 could arrive at pediatricians’ doors as soon as Feb. 21, according to a planning guide sent to states from federal health officials and obtained by ABC News.
Doses can ship once the FDA signs off.
The FDA’s independent advisory committee will meet on Tuesday and after that the FDA can issue an emergency use authorization.
The CDC’s independent advisory panel is expected to meet within days of the FDA’s authorization. Once the CDC signs off on its panel’s recommendations, vaccinations for kids under 5 can start.
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Feb 10, 2:18 pm
Walensky: Difficult to release guidance that works everywhere from NYC to rural Montana
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged that it’s tough to make national guidelines to ease restrictions that will fit every different city and town.
“One of the challenging pieces has been how we make guidance that is general enough so that it can be applied to New York City and rural Montana and Indian country, which is our responsibility, and yet have it be specific enough so that people can get their questions answered,” Walensky said in a webinar in hosted by the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project.
Looking to the future, Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s vaccine chief, said “Obviously the hope is — and I think it’s probably the 90% scenario — is that we’re going to now move into a period where … the virus becomes endemic. And we will be living alongside it probably in a period where we will start to get yearly boosters for it.”
But Dr. Sara Oliver, an epidemic intelligence service officer for the CDC, noted that, although there’s a drop in cases, the same hasn’t happened yet in hospitals.
“It’s difficult to envision a time point where we can say COVID is over if we’re still in a time period where our hospitals and ICUs are feeling the strain,” Oliver said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 10, 1:51 pm
Nevada lifting indoor mask mandate, including for schools
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday announced an immediate end to the state’s indoor mask mandate — including for schools — citing a rapid decline in cases and a drop in hospitalizations.
“Teachers & schools will no longer be required to wear masks but school districts will need to work with their local health authorities to have plans in place to deal with outbreaks,” the governor tweeted.
He added, “Employers and organizations, including school districts, may set their own policies, and I encourage them to work with their employees and communities to ensure that policies are in place.”
Masks in Nevada will only be required on public transit per federal law, or in special facilities like hospitals or long-term care facilities.
