A Fire Department of New York (FDNY) union leader wants the department to investigate whether three recent firefighter deaths resulted from city-mandated COVID-19 vaccines.
The request from Uniformed Fire Officers Association President James McCarthy comes after the line-of-duty deaths of Lt. Joseph Maiello, 53, who was found dead in a Staten Island firehouse after a Christmas shift, and Firefighter Jesse Gerhard, 33, who died at his firehouse in Far Rockaway, Queens, after a medical episode Wednesday (Feb. 16).
McCarthy wants the FDNY to include in its COVID-19 vaccine probe the death of Probationary Firefighter Vincent Malveaux, 31, who died December 2 at the FDNY Training Academy on Randalls Island after suffering a medical episode believed to be a seizure.
“That’s a significant amount of people in a very short time,” said McCarthy. “The vaccine is a concern with our members because it is something new that is being put into our bodies. It could be a factor.”