Vax Exemption Granted To Bayside's City Council Member, She Says
BAYSIDE, QUEENS — After nearly two weeks on the job, Bayside's City Council member was finally allowed to enter the City Council's meeting room.
Council Member Vickie Paladino, who was previously barred from the chamber after defying City Hall's COVID-19 vaccination mandate, was allowed in the room this week after securing a vaccine exemption, her spokesperson Robert Hornak confirmed with Patch.
"She was granted an exemption and will be allowed in the chamber with a negative COVID test," he wrote in response to photos that Paladino shared on Twitter of herself in the chamber.
Hornack did not say explicitly that the vaccine exemption was religious, but NY1 reported that she received a religious waver, per a statement from her son (another one of her spokespeople), who said that she is a Roman Catholic.
When asked by Patch how the council member responds to Pope Francis' statement that everyone has a "moral obligation" to get vaccinated, Hornack spoke about Paladino's belief in "personal medical privacy."
"[Paladino believes] that nobody should be forced to disclose their medical information publicly. Especially to participate in the most basic functions of everyday life like work," he said.
This is not a new stance for Paladino, who has long protested the city's vaccine requirements, falsely claiming the mandates are a HIPAA violation (a law that only applies in health care settings).
She also ran for the council on an anti-vaccine-mandate platform, flouting the state's COVID guidelines last winter by leading a maskless "COVID conga line" at an indoor GOP event.
In November, before getting sworn in, Paladino pledged that she wouldn't require her staff to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or disclose her own jab status.
"This is about protecting our staff," Paladino's son and former campaign director, Thomas Paladino Jr., told Patch at the time.
The City Council did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.
Related Article: Bayside Council Member Barred From Chamber After Defying Vax Rule
This article originally appeared on the Bayside-Douglaston Patch
