In 2021, New York City instituted COVID-19 vaccine mandates for both public- and private-sector employees. These mandates allowed for limited exemptions for religious or medical reasons, though the city was reluctant to grant such exemptions to its public-sector workforce.

While those mandates were in effect, approximately 12,000 workers sought religious or medical exemptions from the public mandate. Approximately 9,000 of those requests were denied, and more than 1,700 city workers were terminated for noncompliance with the public-sector mandate.