NY Governor on vaccine mandates: ‘I would do it all over again’

New York Governor Kathy Hochul Tuesday showed no remorse over imposing her vaccine mandate, saying she “would do it all over again.” The unelected governor made the remarks during a debate with Republican challenger Lee Zeldin, who recent polls show is gaining on his Democratic opponent. 

“We are dealing with a real crisis. And the more people that can vaccinated, get those shots in arms, and I would do it all over again what I did last year, that mandate for healthcare workers,” said Hochul defiantly. 

Last year, Hochul’s vaccine mandate left 34,000 healthcare workers out of a job. 

Hochul made the comment a day after a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled the city’s vaccine mandate illegal, even “capricious and arbitrary”. 

“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.  

“If it was about safety and public health, the Health Commissioner would have issued city-wide mandates for vaccination for all residents. In a City with a nearly 80% vaccination rate, we shouldn’t be penalizing the people who showed up to work, at great risk to themselves and their families, while we were locked down.  

“If it was about safety and public health, no one would be exempt. It is time for the City of New York to do what is right and what is just.” 

During Tuesday night’s debate, Hochul also danced around the issue of mandating COVID injections for children, saying she would not do it “at this time”. 

The moderator first asked Hochul if she would issue a mandate for children, but Hochul tried to avoid the question by boasting how she gave children the “opportunity” to wear masks in order to attend school, along with vaccines. 

But the moderator pressed again: 

“So, would you mandate a COVID vaccine for children, or no?” 

“Not at this time,” Hochul responded. “I’m gonna talk about parental control over this, but I’d also say, it’s something that comes down to legislature anyhow. Legislature makes a determination in consultation with health experts for next year’s school year — you’re talking about this year. We’re not talking about mandating a COVID vaccine for children in school at the time, but I’m encouraging it, highly, highly encouraging.” 

Zeldin’s response to the question was more assertive. 

“Where my opponent just said she will not mandate COVID vaccine at this time, let me [be] clear to all the parents who are out there: I will not mandate COVID vaccines for your kids ever,” he stated.