Andy eyes vax rules for health staff, teachers
New York is not implementing new mask rules, but the state is considering making vaccines mandatory for nursing home workers, teachers and all health care employees if COVID cases keep rising.
Gov. Cuomo floated further actions on Monday as he announced that Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Port Authority workers will be the latest group required to be vaccinated or submit to weekly coronavirus testing, joining all state and city public employees.
Vaccinations could become mandatory for more New Yorkers as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps across the nation, the governor warned.
“Everything should be on the table, and we should start talking about it now,” Cuomo (photo) said during a press briefing at his Manhattan office. “Because if these numbers start to rise and start to rise quickly, it can’t be that we’re not ready to move.
“These are places where one person can literally infect dozens during the course of a day,” he added. “If you want to teach my kids, I think you should be vaccinated. If you want to take care of my mother in a nursing home, I think you should be vaccinated.”
With New York’s COVID state of emergency no longer in place, Cuomo doesn’t have the authority to mandate vaccines beyond state public employees, nor can he require masks for New Yorkers in areas with high case numbers.
Instead, he said he strongly recommends counties and local governments adopt the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask guidelines, which recommend face coverings indoors for anyone, vaccinated or not, in areas with substantial or high COVID transmission. That includes New York City. “You know how this turns out,” the governor said, noting that cases have increased fivefold over the past month. “You know what those facts mean. You know what’s going to happen in the movie. Don’t wait for what you know is going to happen. We beat the damn thing by being smart the first time. Be smart again.
“It’s up to the local governments. Learn the lesson from last year. Don’t deny reality,” he added.
Cuomo encouraged private businesses, including restaurants, to require customers to be vaccinated as a way to boost immunization rates.
He also called on local governments to mandate all patient-facing healthcare workers be inoculated, something the state required for state-run hospitals last week.
“Right now, this is all up to local governments. If they don’t act, then we’ll be where we were last year where it becomes a statewide emergency and the state will have to act,” he said.
“We’re not there” Cuomo cautioned, adding that the Legislature could, in theory, pass a law making vaccinations mandatory once the COVID immunizations gain full federal approval.
“That would require a law passed by the Legislature and it’s going to be what the legislature’s appetite is to wade into that situation,” he said.
Cuomo said acting MTA chairman Janno Lieber must work with union leaders to ensure the agency’s 66,500 workers get the shots or submit to weekly tests.
“We strongly believe everyone should get vaccinated,” said Local 100 President Tony Utano. “Anyone who has concerns should ask their doctor for advice. We will continue to urge members to get the shot and will work with the MTA to ensure testing options are widely available at worksites.”
The politically powerful New York State United Teachers, meanwhile, said Monday that it does not support mandating its members get vaccinated.
“We have advocated since the beginning of the year that any educator who wants a vaccine should have easy access to one,” the group said in a statement. “We would support local efforts to encourage more vaccinations, such as through programs that require that those who are not vaccinated get tested on a regular basis. But it’s critical that districts come up with plans to make testing available on-site and at no cost.”