While more than 8,000 Chicago police members have complied with the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, thousands still haven't done so, city officials revealed Monday, two days after the vaccination requirement for city workers went into effect.
A showdown over the requirement has enveloped the city for days, with the head of Chicago's Fraternal Order Police asking his members to defy the city’s COVID vaccine policies. A restraining order was issued against FOP President John Catanzara Friday, barring him from making public comments urging members to not comply.
On Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke at a news conference where she revealed a total 79% of city employees have confirmed their vaccination status, and of those, 84% have been fully vaccinated.
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City officials also released compliance data, revealing the Chicago Police Department had the lowest response rate among the more than 30 city departments.
Approximately 64.42% or 8,226 of the department's 12,770 members, complied with the mandate, submitting their vaccination status through an online portal before the Friday deadline.
More than 35% of employees, approximately 4,500 people, haven't submitted their vaccination status.
It's unclear how many officers haven't complied as the numbers provided include both sworn Chicago police officers and civilian employees.
Of the more than 8,200 CPD employees who responded, 1,333 said they haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Under the city's rules, employees who weren't vaccinated by Oct. 15 need to get tested twice a week on their own time and expense until the end of the year, when they will be required to be vaccinated. Any employee not complying with those requirements could face disciplinary action, including and up to termination.
City officials have said there is no requirement to enter detailed medical information — only vaccination status and proof of vaccination.
"There is information online saying that people are being requested to upload private medical records, lots of medical history, DNA sample - none of that is true," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady previously said.
The city has a similar COVID-19 vaccine requirement for employees of city schools, which the Chicago Teachers Union supported.
