MTA lifts COVID vaccine requirement for new hires

The MTA is lifting its requirement that new employees be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19.

The new rule, which allows MTA employees to be hired regardless of their vaccination status, will go into effect Monday, according to an internal agency memo.

“This action is consistent with New York State and New York City practices, and aligned with the post-COVID landscape, with wide availability of vaccines and advances in testing and treatment,” he wrote. in the memorandum the head of human resources of the MTA, Hugo Pizarro. to agency presidents and heads.

“We continue to encourage vaccinations and boosters as the safest way to protect against serious illness due to COVID,” Pizarro added.

In the memo, Pizarro said the agency’s vaccination rate was “in line” with the New York State vaccination rate. Government data shows that 85.5% of adults in the state have received two doses of the vaccine.

The new rule will not apply to individuals applying for the MTA’s Occupational Health Services department or other health-related roles.

The MTA stopped weekly testing of unvaccinated transit workers last June.

The agency’s workforce was hit particularly hard by COVID-19, with 177 of its employees confirmed dead, the majority in the first year of the pandemic.