Subject:
Leave time for COVID vaccinations
Message:
Dear Legislator,
As a union member and a constituent who would like to see us defeat the COVID-19 virus, I urge you to support S.2588 (Gounardes)/A.3354 (Fall), which will grant public employees who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, up to four hours of excused leave to get vaccinated.
Public employees who are within the 1A or 1B categories to receive the COVID vaccination search the state website daily for time slots and locations to receive the vaccine. The need for us to get vaccinated as quickly as possible is a vital first step in vaccinating the over seven-million New Yorkers who come after us in subsequent categories. Due to the limited access to the vaccine, public employees often must travel to other counties and have very little control over when their appointment is scheduled.
To accomplish this massive and globally important task, any impediment that creates a bottleneck must be removed; including any arbitrary limits that public employers may place on how and when their employees get the vaccine. 
Public employees already receive similar statutory leave for cancer screenings. Understanding  that we will one day defeat COVID-19, and our essential public workforce will no longer need this leave, the legislation repeals itself on December 31, 2022, which will hopefully be more than enough time to achieve the CDC’s recommended vaccination coverage and truly end this terrible pandemic.
While Governor Cuomo has included a similar proposal in his executive budget, I believe that waiting for the budget process to conclude, months from now, is a dangerous proposition that will only further stretch out the length of time it takes to get all New Yorkers vaccinated and see our lives return to normal. The passage of this legislation will remove this barrier much faster.
Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. I respectfully ask that you bring up this issue with your conference. I look forward to a reply to my email.
Sincerely,
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