New York Republicans Urge Hochul To End COVID Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers
Washington, DC – This week, Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) joined with Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-NY-04) and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) in sending a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressing concern over healthcare staffing shortages in New York due to the vaccine mandate that remains in place. The mandate is one factor driving a staffing crisis in New York, which negatively impacts the ability of New Yorkers to access quality healthcare close to home.
The letter was also signed by Representatives Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY-04), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11), George Santos (R-NY-03), Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23), Nick LaLota (R-NY-01), and Mark Molinaro (R-NY-19).
In the letter, the lawmakers wrote in part, “The evidence is clear: the staffing shortage affecting New York’s healthcare sector is a crisis and must be addressed. While long-term solutions must also be considered, it is imperative for your administration to drop its COVID-19 vaccine mandate immediately so that healthcare workers can return to serving their friends, loved ones, and neighbors. Decades of healthcare experience are being left on the sidelines or pushed into other states as a result of the mandate. This is even more noteworthy given that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Director has publicly stated that the vaccine cannot prevent transmission.”
Read the full letter here.
“New York State’s COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers only exacerbated the existing healthcare labor shortage by driving thousands of nurses, doctors, and hospital administrators out of work. 100% of New York hospitals were impacted, and patients are paying the price in the form of reduced services and access to care. With the worst of the COVID pandemic behind us, it is imperative that New York State immediately rescind this mandate and let our healthcare workers get back to where they are needed most,” said Rep. Garbarino.
"Our essential heroes continue to be attacked and demonized by Kathy Hochul and her unconstitutional policies. Countless hospitals in Upstate New York have been forced to close wings or turn away patients due to the vaccine mandate. Vaccine mandates completely violate an individual's constitutional rights and are now negatively affecting others. It's time for Hochul to revoke her disastrous COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers across New York," said Rep. Tenney.
“Kathy Hochul must repeal her authoritarian COVID-19 mandate for healthcare workers, so Upstate New Yorkers can have the access the quality care they need. These mandates are an attack on the personal freedoms of our frontline workers and have unnecessarily exacerbated the healthcare workforce shortage at New York hospitals and healthcare centers. There should be no more reason our rural hospitals have to continue to suffer from another crisis of Kathy Hochul’s creation,” said Rep. Stefanik
"New York’s misguided COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers is worsening the ongoing staffing shortages facing hospitals, long-term care centers, and other medical facilities across the state. This mandate forces many of New York’s qualified healthcare workers to take their in-demand skills to other corners of the country that demonstrate a greater degree of respect for personal medical choice. I strongly urge Governor Hochul to reevaluate New York’s disastrous COVID-19 vaccine mandate for medical professionals,” said Rep. D’Esposito.
“Throughout the pandemic, our healthcare workers worked day and night in our hospitals without the protection of the vaccine to treat those suffering from COVID-19 and other ailments. Now that the pandemic is over and more therapeutic treatments are readily available, there’s no reason why Governor Hochul shouldn’t lift this mandate to address the staffing shortages at New York’s healthcare facilities and ensure our constituents receive the highest quality care,” said Rep. Malliotakis.
“As a member of the New York delegation, I am deeply concerned with the severe staffing shortages throughout New York as they are a direct result of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine mandate that was put in place by your predecessor. As our Governor, we urge you to put an end to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for our healthcare workers so they can continue to deliver quality care but also mitigate some of the staffing challenges being faced by New York hospitals. Having over 30,000 healthcare workers forced out of their jobs, in addition to New York hospitals reporting a significant shortage in healthcare staff will continue a downward path of both economic and health related impacts on all New Yorkers,” said Rep. Santos.
With New York facing a massive shortage of nursing staff, Albany must reevaluate the policies that have made this crisis even worse. While my wife and I are vaccinated against COVID-19, as are our families, there are a number of reasons why individuals have chosen not to get this vaccine and they should not lose their job as a result — especially when the work they do is so critical. The fact is that this vaccine was authorized on an emergency use basis, does not have years of scientific results, and does not prevent one from getting the virus. For these reasons I join with many of my New York delegation colleagues in demanding Governor Hochul rescind this mandate for the state’s hundreds of thousands of healthcare worker”, said Rep. Lawler.
“From the get-go these vaccine mandates were wrong and defied logic. It’s unconscionable that our frontline workers were handed pink slips after their incredible work caring for people during the height of the pandemic and now we are seeing just how devastating the consequences of that decision have been. It’s way past time to stop the political hysteria and end these nonsensical mandates so New Yorkers can get the standard of care they deserve,” said Rep. Langworthy
“New York State is reaching a crisis point with the lack of qualified healthcare professionals and the state’s vaccine mandates are making it worse. The 34,000 incredibly qualified healthcare workers forced out of their jobs by the vaccine mandate could easily be rehired to fill the open positions. The vaccine mandate’s repeal and the rehiring of these healthcare workers would ease the strain on our health system and ensure more New Yorkers have access to quality care. This pandemic policy, done without legislative approval, has made a bad situation worse and Governor Hochul can and should take action to fix the problem,” said Rep. LaLota.
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