On August 16, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all healthcare workers in New York State, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, adult care facilities and other congregate care settings, are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Healthcare workers must receive their first dose of the vaccination by September 27, 2021. This mandate is not only limited to public employees, but also extends to privately employed healthcare workers.
Pursuant to the governor's directive, the New York State Department of Health is expected to issue orders pursuant to its authority under the New York Public Health Law that will require all hospital and long-term care facilities to develop and implement a policy mandating employee vaccinations, with limited exceptions for those with religious objections or medical contraindications to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The governor's announcement comes on top of his June 28, 2021 announcement that all of New York State's patient-facing healthcare workers at state-run hospitals must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Labor Day (September 6, 2021), and cannot avail themselves of the option to be regularly tested for COVID-19 in lieu of vaccination. Based on the governor's August 16th announcement, the vaccination deadline for the state's patient-facing healthcare workers at state-run hospitals has seemingly been extended past September 6th to September 27th. Further guidance is expected from the state. It is hoped that there will be guidance on other issues as well, including: (i) who may be considered a healthcare worker; (ii) how a healthcare worker may sufficiently demonstrate a religious objection or medical contraindication to vaccination; (iii) how such objections or contraindications can reasonably be accommodated, and (iv) if a healthcare worker has already been vaccinated using vaccines administered outside of the United States (such as those emergency-use listed by the World Health Organization), whether those vaccines are accepted under the state's new requirement.
New York City had previously announced that beginning August 2, 2021, employees at city-run health facilities would be required to submit proof of vaccination or "test out" wherein they submit to weekly COVID-19 testing and provide proof of a negative test. With the new state-imposed requirement, it appears that the city's "test out" option has been superseded by the state's requirements, and that employers that had been considering a testing option in lieu of vaccination will need to adjust their plans. The State Department of Health's orders may clarify this issue further.
Healthcare employers are encouraged to speak with counsel regarding New York City and New York State's vaccination requirements. We will continue to monitor developments in this area and provide updates as additional information becomes available.
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