NY Y won’t enforce booster mandate for health care workers

NY won't enforce booster mandate for health care workers ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will not enforce its mandate requiring health care workers to get COVID-19 boosters in light of concerns about staffing shortages, state health officials said Friday. Gov. AP NEWS

... Gov. Kathy Hochul pointed to a troubling rise in breakthrough infections when she announced the mandate in January. The Democrat’s 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 far below 100% in nursing homes and hospitals.

Nursing homes and hospitals in New York have vaccinated nearly all employees, but health experts worry that booster rates are too low to protect against future surges as a vaccination’s efficacy wanes over time. COVID-19 vaccine booster shots provide 90% protection against hospitalization, according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month.

About 43% of roughly 146,000 nursing home staffers across New York were fully vaccinated with a booster shot, according to The Associated Press’ analysis of the latest state Department of Health data released Wednesday.

That’s up from about 20% as of early January, when Hochul first announced the booster mandate. ...