New York repeals vaccine mandate four months after court order

New York last week announced it is lifting its vaccine mandate for healthcare workers four months after a court order to do so.

The New York State Supreme Court struck down the state’s mandate for healthcare workers on January 13th, though the state appealed and won a stay against the ruling which kept the mandate in effect.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul refused to rehire the terminated healthcare workers — even as the state faced a healthcare staffing crisis — because she claimed unvaccinated people could transmit COVID-19 to vaccinated people, though the reverse is true as well.

But last week, New York’s Department of Health (NYDOH) said it will lift the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers because of COVID’s “changing landscape”.

"Due to the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving vaccine recommendations, the New York State Department of Health has begun the process of repealing the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for workers at regulated health care facilities,” said the Health Department in a statement.

It is unclear what “landscape” has changed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not revised its guidance from August 2022 which removed differentiation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Nevertheless, the NYDOH appeared to suggest that facilities continue to discriminate against unvaccinated workers:

Throughout the public health emergency, this vaccine requirement served as a critical public health tool, helping to protect both health care workers and the patients under their care. As the repeal of this regulation awaits consideration for approval by the Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC), the Department will not commence any new enforcement actions. However, it should be noted that facilities should continue to implement their own internal policies regarding COVID-19 vaccination.

Judge Ralph Porzio in October struck down New York City’s vaccine mandate for workers which saw approximately 1,430 employees terminated in February 2022. All city employees were allowed back to work and entitled to back pay. Porzio said the mandate was “arbitrary and capricious” and a matter of compliance, not safety.

“The vaccination mandate for City employees was not just about safety and public health; it was about compliance,” Judge Porzio wrote. “If it was about safety and public health, unvaccinated workers would have been placed on leave the moment the order was issued.” 

The city eventually rehired its workers back four months later but refused to give them back pay.