NY Vaccine Mandate Overturned Will Not Rehire Unvaccinated Healthcare Workers

The Covid-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers has been lifted. However, Governor Kathy Hochul is indicating that the overturning will not allow any unvaccinated individuals to return to their roles. The mandate, which asked hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state to develop individual policies enforcing vaccinations, was implemented by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2021. Governor Hochul extended it the following year.

Governor Hochul responded to this news alongside the healthcare staff crisis, stating: “It’s a problem, but I don’t think the answer is to have someone who comes in, who is sick, be exposed to someone who can give them coronavirus, give them COVID-19. don’t know that that’s the right answer. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s not…I truly understand the challenge and the balance, and these are never easy decisions. But I cannot put people into harm’s way because when you go into a healthcare facility, you expect that you’re not going to come out sicker than when you went in.”

Source: 13 WHAM