September 28, 2021 – Healthcare providers in New York state are preparing for staff shortages this week as a vaccine mandate took effect at midnight on Monday.
The state mandate requires that more than 665,000 workers in public and private hospitals and nursing homes receive their first vaccine dose by midnight Monday to continue working on Tuesday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she would deal with healthcare staff shortages by dispatching the National Guard to affected facilities. She signed an executive order that allows providers licensed in other states or countries, recent graduates and retired healthcare professionals to practice in New York state.
The mandate presents the largest test case so far of how similar requirements will play out across the country. A federal appeals court late Monday reversed an action that blocked a vaccine mandate for New York City’s public school workers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, government officials have spent the last several days working to vaccinate education and healthcare workers while planning for potential disruptions.
Several lawsuits filed by affected healthcare workers in New York, some backed by unions, are pending in state and federal courts. But no judge has stopped the mandate from taking effect, making New York an early example of how many workers who oppose vaccination will opt to leave their jobs in the face of mandates.
Data show the rates of refusal are lower in downstate hospitals than in more remote upstate areas further from New York City.
NewYork-Presbyterian hospital network said last week that of its 37,000 employees and 11,000 affiliated doctors, fewer than 250 refused to comply with a vaccine mandate.