NY not to mandate COVID booster for medical staff

New York announced on Friday that it will waive the state's COVID-19 vaccine booster mandate for healthcare employees amid worries of potential staffing problems

New York announced on Friday that it will waive the state's COVID-19 vaccine booster mandate for healthcare employees amid worries of potential staffing problems, Qazet.az reports citing Teletrader.

Last month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would require all healthcare workers to have a COVID-19 booster due to an increase in the number of infections. That mandate was expected to go into effect next Monday.

"While we are making progress with 75% of staff received or are willing to receive their booster, the reality is that not enough healthcare workers will be boosted by next week's requirement in order to avoid substantial staffing issues in our already overstressed healthcare system. That is why we are announcing additional efforts to work closely with healthcare facilities and ensure that our healthcare workforce is up to date on their doses," State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement.