Albany, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - The New York State Department of Health announced on Friday it will no longer be enforcing the COVID-19 booster mandate for healthcare workers, which was set to take place starting on Monday.
The announcement came as the state highlighted progress in getting healthcare workers boosted, while also announcing additional efforts to increase booster rates among healthcare workers and avoid staffing shortages going forward.
The original vaccination requirement for healthcare workers remains in effect.
New York already requires healthcare workers to get vaccinated, with exemptions for workers who have a medical reason for not being eligible to receive the shot. The state was set to join a few states that have announced plans to require boosters for health care workers, including California and New Mexico.
“The vaccine and booster are critical tools to keep both healthcare workers and their patients safe, and we continue to urge everyone to get vaccinated and receive a booster dose when eligible,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett in a statement. “While we are making progress with 75% of staff received or are willing to receive their booster, the reality is that not enough healthcare workers will be boosted by next week’s requirement in order to avoid substantial staffing issues in our already overstressed healthcare system. That is why we are announcing additional efforts to work closely with healthcare facilities and ensure that our healthcare workforce is up to date on their doses.”
As of right now, 75% of the New York's healthcare workforce have either received, or are willing to receive a booster vaccination, according to recent data.
The state says they will continue to work closely with hospitals and healthcare facilities to keep up with employees getting up to date on their vaccines.
The state will re-assess in three months whether more steps need to be taken to increase booster rates among the healthcare workforce.
