Labor Day is the deadline for patient-facing healthcare workers at state-run hospitals in New York to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said July 28.
"New Yorkers have displayed tremendous dedication and resilience to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic across the state, but vaccination rates aren't keeping pace with the delta variant and we need to act now," Mr. Cuomo said in a news release. "That's why we're requiring everyone who works in a state-run hospital and interacts with patients to get vaccinated."
The requirement applies to the following state-run hospitals and facilities:
- SUNY Stony Brook
- SUNY Upstate
- SUNY Downstate
- Long Island Veterans Home at Stony Brook
- Helen Hayes Hospital (West Haverstraw)
- SUNY College of Optometry (New York City)
- Montrose Veterans Home
- St. Albans Veterans Home (New York City)
- Oxford Veterans Home
- Batavia Veterans Home
Mr. Cuomo also announced that state employees — about 130,000 people — will be required to get vaccinated by Labor Day or to get tested weekly.
He said testing in lieu of vaccination will not be an option for patient-facing healthcare workers.
Read more here.