THE STICK WORKS

New Stats Show Just How Effective NY’s Controversial Hospital Vax Mandate Is

“I am pleased to see that health care workers are getting vaccinated to keep New Yorkers safe,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released new stats on Tuesday showing that the state’s vaccine mandate for hospital workers, which came into effect on Monday amid some protests, prompted an extraordinary number of health-care workers to finally get vaccinated. Before Monday, 84 percent of the state’s 450,000 hospital workers were vaccinated, along with 83 percent of its 145,400 nursing home workers. That left as many as 94,000 workers on the brink of being fired on Monday, prompting New York to scramble for emergency backup. But, by Tuesday, a whopping 92 percent of nursing home staff, 89 percent of adult care facilities staff, and 92 percent of hospital staff had been vaccinated, Hochul’s office said. In a statement, New York-Presbyterian said it had let go of 250 workers who chose not to comply with its mandate but more than 99 percent of employees had.

“This new information shows that holding firm on the vaccine mandate for health care workers is simply the right thing to do to protect our vulnerable family members and loved ones from COVID-19,” Hochul said. A similar mandate for school workers was temporarily derailed up by court challenges.