NYC Health Dept. seeks outside firm to help protect staff still being harassed over COVID protocols

The NYC Department of Health is quietly planning to hire an outside consultant to devise guidelines to protect agency honchos it claims have been bombarded by threats since the pandemic — which critics say the agency woefully mishandled.

The Health Department began soliciting proposals last month from vendors interested in developing agency protocols to prevent online and in-person “safety risks and “proactively protect” its employees.

Up to 75 staffers, including “leadership,” researchers and data analysts — whose “online presence leaves them vulnerable to harassment, doxxing, and reputational attacks” — will also receive “personal safety training” on how to “protect themselves” while attending public meetings and performing other field duties, the application says.

This includes receiving “de-escalation training to help staff safely and confidently navigate tense or confrontational situations.”

“Public health workers, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, have faced threats, intimidation, and opposition driven by misinformation and the politicization of public health issues,” the Health Department claimed in the document released Sept. 19.

“These threats can have severe impacts on the workforce, including burnout, poor mental health, and high rates of attrition.”

The Health Department refused to say what the taxpayer-funded tab will be for the new contract, but critics questioned whether it’s necessary — and if the agency brought on itself much of the criticism it’s received.

Diane Pagan, a former Department of Education social worker who was terminated from her job in 2021 for violating the city’s vaccine mandate, was flabbergasted upon hearing on the planned contract.

“There were a lot of untruths told by the Health Department, and they should be on their hands and knees apologizing, reinstating and compensating any New Yorker harmed by the false statements they made,” said Pagan.

“But their response … is to point fingers at people with logical questions and logical reasons to be upset with them — and then spend money to protect themselves.”

“I’ve heard a lot of dumb shit since COVID, [and] I thought most of it was like behind us, but this is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” she said.

One of the most galling examples is former “COVID Czar” Jay Varma, an appointee of ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio, being caught boasting on a hidden camera about attending drug-fueled orgies during the pandemic  — even as the agency insisted the public wear masks and isolate themselves from friends and loved ones.

And he also was recorded conceding that natural immunity to the deadly virus is just as good as the jab – all while at the time telling the public to get vaccinated.

Mayor Eric Adams lifted the vax mandate for city employees in February 2023.

“That isn’t something people just forget — add to it that there are still people out of their jobs for vaccine non-compliance, and yeah, of course people are going to be angry, and rightfully so,” said Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens).

“I don’t agree with doxxing or anything like that, but instead of spending money on something like this, how about they address the root of the issue: apologize for bungling the COVID response, and get all of the workers still out of a job due to vaccine non-compliance back on the payroll. Then maybe people wouldn’t be so angry with them.”

“If agency officials are worried about reputational attacks, maybe they should focus on earning the public’s trust, not scrubbing the Internet,” added Councilman Frank Morano (R-Staten Island).

The Health Department’s nonprofit fundraising arm Fund for Public Health in New York City is overseeing the selection process, and all proposals from prospective applicants were due Friday. The agency and nonprofit expect to tap a winner by the end of the month.

The Health Department refused to say which officials and other staffers will be trained or clarify who has been harassed and threatened — and why.

Instead, it issued a statement saying “at a time when the public health workforce is under threat, strong digital and physical securities and trainings are essential to protect our staff from growing risks of harassment.

“By promoting digital literacy and proactive safety practices, we’re aiming to empower staff to navigate both the real and online worlds with confidence and resiliency,” the department said.