Bhattacharya, Makary Supported New York City Workers Fired Over COVID Vaccine Mandates
Plaintiffs in two lawsuits challenging New York's firing of city workers for refusing COVID-19 vaccines are hopeful after this week's confirmations of Drs. Bhattacharya and Makary.
Plaintiffs in two lawsuits — including one filed by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) — challenging New York’s firing of city workers for refusing COVID-19 vaccines are hopeful this week’s confirmations of Drs. Jay Bhattacharya and Marty Makary to lead top U.S. public health agencies will lead to positive outcomes in their ongoing legal battles.
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Makary to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In October 2021, both men submitted affidavits in the case of Kane v. de Blasio, a lawsuit filed on behalf of New York City educators who were denied a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“Children’s Health Defense was the first organization in the nation to stand with fired New York City workers using unbiased science from Dr. Bhattacharya and Dr. Makary,” said Mary Holland, CEO of CHD. “We have every reason to expect that these scientists will rely on the same unbiased science as they will now lead NIH and FDA.”
Kane v. de Blasio and New Yorkers for Religious Liberty (NYFRL) v. City of New York collectively represent teachers, firefighters, police, sanitation workers, medical professionals and other city workers who were fired or displaced for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Kane v. de Blasio represents teachers and educators, the first workers to be targeted with a vaccine mandate in the city. NYFRL v. City of New York represents all sectors of city workers.
Both cases allege that failing to accommodate the religious exemptions to vaccination represents First Amendment violations. The cases are at different stages in the appeals process as they work their way through the federal courts. They could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bhattacharya and Makary filed their affidavits with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan on Oct. 4, 2021.
“When I cold-called Dr. Makary and Dr. Bhattacharya on a weekend, they didn’t hesitate — they dropped everything to help us, pro bono, on an emergency motion,” said Sujata Gibson, lead attorney on the two cases. “Their generosity was a game-changer for our fight.”
Both Bhattacharya and Makary made clear in their scientific affidavits that unvaccinated people pose no threat to the public, natural immunity to COVID-19 is robust, long lasting and “at least as good as from the vaccines” if not better, and that people with religious beliefs in opposition to vaccination should not be fired but accommodated.
In his affidavit, Bhattacharya wrote:
“In sum, based on my analysis of the existing medical and scientific literature, any policy mandating vaccinations that does not recognize natural immunity is irrational, arbitrary, and counterproductive to community health.”
Makary concluded in his affidavit:
“Mandating vaccines for ‘every living, walking American,’ is, as of now, not well-supported by science. Moreover, an indiscriminate vaccination policy may result in unintended harm.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founder and former chairman of CHD, now leads the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, opening the door for a major turnaround in the space of federal public health policy. Where the scientific opinions of doctors Bhattacharya and Makary were suppressed and censored in 2021, they are now embraced at the highest levels.
President Donald Trump made it an early priority of his administration to reinstate all military members with back pay who were fired for declining the COVID-19 shot. Trump signed an executive order for this on Jan. 27, 2025, just one week after his inauguration.
“The military Executive Order from President Trump is exactly the model that should be followed in New York City for fired unvaccinated workers,” said Michael Kane, lead plaintiff in Kane v. de Blasio and founder of Teachers for Choice.
“I am meeting more and more people who were made homeless because they declined the COVID shot. One man lost his job, lost his home and lost his wife, and he is currently homeless. The hell this nonsensical mandate has caused is immeasurable.”
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"The hell this nonsensical mandate has caused is immeasurable." Powerful words from Michael!
Awesome; good news and very encouraging. Thanks.