Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NY May Turn To National Guard To Bridge Looming Health Worker Gaps
NPR: New York Expects Health Care Worker Shortages Ahead Of Vaccine Mandate Deadline
New York state officials are bracing for staffing shortages when the state's health care worker vaccination mandate takes effect on Monday, and could be looking to the National Guard — as well as medical professionals from other states and countries — to help address them. Gov. Kathy Hochul released a plan on Saturday, outlining the steps she could take to increase the workforce in the event that large numbers of hospital and nursing home employees do not meet the state's deadline. (Treisman, 9/26)
Reuters: New York May Tap National Guard To Replace Unvaccinated Healthcare Workers
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering employing the National Guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages with tens of thousands of workers possibly losing their jobs for not meeting a Monday deadline for mandated COVID-19 vaccination. The plan, outlined in a statement from Hochul on Saturday, would allow her to declare a state of emergency to increase the supply of healthcare workers to include licensed professionals from other states and countries as well as retired nurses. (Layne, 9/26)
CNN: New York Vaccine Mandates: What You Need To Know
Monday is the deadline for tens of thousands of New York workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Court orders, though, have thrown that deadline off for some. The vaccines were mandated by New York City for public school employees, by the state for health care workers and by the state's court system for its staff members after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine received full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in August. Here's what we know as the deadline falls. (Waldrop, 9/27)
The New York Times: These Health Care Workers Would Rather Get Fired Than Get Vaccinated
Deborah Conrad, a physician assistant in western New York, and Simmone Leslie, a hospital switchboard operator in Queens, have both worked long, risky hours during the pandemic. But now, both are prepared to lose their jobs rather than meet Monday’s state deadline for health care workers to get vaccinated .In defying the order, they are resisting a step that public-health experts say is critical to save lives and end the pandemic. While they each cite differing reasons for their decisions — Ms. Leslie said her employer rejected her request for a medical exemption; Ms. Conrad referenced vaccine side effects she claimed to have seen but that veer from the scientific consensus — their recalcitrance embodies a conundrum facing New York. (Barnard, Ashford and Vigdor, 9/26)
And in updates on New York City's vaccine mandate for teachers —
Reuters: Court Sets Hearing For Wednesday On New York City Schools Vaccine Mandate
A requirement for New York City school teachers and staff to get vaccinated for COVID-19 was temporarily blocked by a U.S. appeals court just days before it was to take effect, but the court on Saturday set a hearing on the matter for next week. Mayor Bill de Blasio last month set Monday as the deadline for 148,000 staff members of the largest U.S. school system to get at least one dose of a vaccine under a mandate aimed at slowing the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. (Szekely, 9/25)
The New York Times: N.Y.C.'s Vaccine Mandate For Teachers Is Delayed By A Court
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has been temporarily blocked from enforcing a vaccine mandate for nearly all adults in New York City public school buildings, after a federal appeals court granted a temporary injunction on Friday. The mandate, which affects well over 150,000 people working in the nation’s largest school system, was set to go into effect on Monday at midnight. Educators, parents and union officials have been bracing for the likelihood of staffing shortages and disruption in at least some schools where significant numbers of educators and staff members are not vaccinated. (Shapiro and Bromwich, 9/25)
Also —
The Washington Post: Staten Island Crowd Storms Mall Food Court, Opposing NYC’s Indoor Dining Vaccine Mandate
As customers enjoyed their Saturday afternoon at Staten Island Mall and prepared to dig in to their meals, a raucous, maskless crowd of dozens opposing New York City’s indoor vaccination mandate stormed into the food court while chanting, “U-S-A!” Their goal: to eat at the food court without showing proof of vaccination. “Everybody go get food and eat. That is what we’re here to do!” one woman said to the group, according to a video from freelance journalist Oliya Scootercaster. “We’re going to meet over there and go into the food court area and sit our butts down and stay as long as we like!” (Villegas, 9/26)
