The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to block the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of the New York City Department of Education who were not given a religious exemption. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles cases from the region, denied the emergency injunction filed by a group of public school teachers, supervisors, and staff employed by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the largest public school district in the country. Her latest ruling comes the same day as the deadline for the teachers as well as other New York City public workers, firefighters, and police officers to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. Those who do not have proof of vaccination will likely be fired or put on unpaid leave. Sotomayor, an Obama nominee, did not provide an explanation for the rejection and did not hold a full court vote on the case, the court’s usual procedure. She also did not ask …