NY won’t enforce booster mandate for health care workers

NY won’t enforce booster mandate for health care workers

People carrying a large American flag march on Brooklyn Bridge during an anti-vaccine mandate protest ahead of possible termination of New York City employees due to their vaccination status, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — State health officials said Friday that New York will not enforce its mandate requiring health care workers to get COVID-19 boosters in light of concerns about staffing shortages. Gov. Kathy Hochul pointed to a troubling rise in breakthrough infections when she announced the mandate in January. Her administration set a deadline of Feb. 21. But state health commissioner Mary Bassett said Friday that the decision to drop enforcement of the mandate reflects the reality that booster rates remain low, particularly in nursing homes.

Photo: People carrying a large American flag march on Brooklyn Bridge during an anti-vaccine mandate protest ahead of possible termination of New York City employees due to their vaccination status, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)