The New York State Department of Health announced it would not enforce a booster shot mandate for health care workers due to take effect Monday.

The Details: The Department issued a statement saying, “In order to avoid potential staffing issues and give healthcare workers more time to get boosted, the State will no longer enforce the booster requirement that will go into effect on February 21.”

The state will reassess in three months to determine a new date of enforcement. The mandate which orders all healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated with two doses remains in effect.

Staffing Shortages Plague State: Governor Kathy Hochul extended an emergency disaster declaration at the beginning of February due to a lack of healthcare staff across the state. New York health leaders also called on the state to rethink the booster enforcement.

“The state has recently heard from numerous stakeholders about how enforcement of the booster mandate could exacerbate New York’s health care staffing shortage, which is the subject of a declared emergency,” Greater New York Hospital Association President Kenneth Raske said, according to SI Live. 

“Three days were not going to be enough time to get enough boosted staff members to serve the residents and patients we have to serve,” LeadingAge New York’s Jim Clyne said. Clyne heads the association of care providers which provide service to nursing homes and senior groups.

(Visited 9,052 times, 1 visits today)