Barely a week before his resignation becomes official, New York governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order on Monday mandating all staff working at hospitals and long-term health facilities in New York to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Based on Cuomo’s order all workers at these facilities will need to be vaccinated by September 27.
“When COVID ambushed New York last year, New Yorkers acted, while the Federal Government denied the problem,” Cuomo said in a statement.
“Now, the Delta variant is spreading across the nation and New York — new daily positives are up over 1000% over the last six weeks, and over 80 percent of recent positives in New York State are linked to the Delta variant. We must now act again to stop the spread. Our healthcare heroes led the battle against the virus, and now we need them to lead the battle between the variant and the vaccine,” Cuomo added.
Based on the latest data from the state Department of Health, roughly 75% of the state’s hospital workers, 74% of adult care facility workers, and 68% of nursing home workers have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series.
In his order, Cuomo also said that the only exceptions to the order are those with religious or medical reasons.
Moreover, Cuomo also said the Department of Health has authorized a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for New Yorkers with compromised immune systems, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation last week.
JOIN US ON WHAT'SAPP, TO GET INSTANT STATUS UPDATES AND BE IN THE KNOW.
CLICK HERE
