Court temporarily blocks repeal of NY’s Covid vaccination mandate for health care workers - syracuse.com | By The Perfect Enemy

Syracuse, N.Y. — A court has temporarily blocked a repeal of New York’s Covid vaccination mandate for health care workers.

The state Supreme Court Appellate Division granted the stay today at the request of the state Health Department.

The state asked for the stay until the Appellate Division hears its appeal of a Jan. 13 decision that struck down the vaccination mandate for nurses, doctors and other employees of hospitals and other health facilities in New York state.

The Jan. 13 decision by state Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri of Syracuse said Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Health department overstepped their authority by making permanent the mandate meant to limit transmission of Covid in hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Neri ruled that the mandate was null, void and unenforceable.

The Health Department said in court papers that letting healthcare facilities hire unvaccinated people would endanger patients and other workers.

Neri’s Jan. 13 decision came in a case brought by a group of medical professionals who lost or were at risk of losing their jobs because of the vaccine mandate. That group argued the state Health Department cannot mandate vaccinations without approval from the state Legislature.

Neri said the state is prohibited from mandating vaccinations outside of what is detailed in public health law, which covers vaccinations for mumps, measles and hepatitis.

The mandate was enacted in August 2021 on an emergency basis by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The state ended its Covid disaster emergency on June 24, 2021. But in June 2022 the state health commissioner made the mandate permanent.

The state Health Department contends it is authorized under state public health law to mandate the vaccinations. In its appeal, the Health Department says it has required health care workers for decades to be immunized against contagious diseases such as measles and rubella.

James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com

#Coronavirus, #PublicHealth

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Published on The Perfect Enemy at https://bit.ly/3mg10UJ.