Health workers who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine could be fired under an emergency edict expected to be approved Thursday by the New York State Department of Health, The Post reported.
“Protected entities may terminate staff who are not fully vaccinated and who do not have a valid medical exemption and who cannot otherwise ensure that people do not participate in
treat the patient / resident or expose them to other covered staff “, establishes the proposed norm.
All 450,000 health workers at hospitals, seniors ’residences and other Empire State establishments must start the vaccine by Sept. 27 to help curb the spread of the highly contagious Delta strain.
The policy was announced by the then governor. Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Health last week.
At the time, DOH officials said they were still finalizing the rules when asked if employers could discipline health workers, including dismissal.
The revised edict, which is expected to be approved by the DOH planning council under new governor Kathy Hochul, clearly gives medical center directors the authority to fire those who reject the vaccine.
It will likely provoke outcry, as vaccination warrants have already provoked a backlash, including protests outside Staten Island / Northwell Health University.
The largest apple union in the Big Apple – the Charity Police Association – has threatened to sue the city if police are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
But health advocates say it is unacceptable for medical workers not to receive the puncture, especially because of working in facilities with vulnerable and immuno-compromised patients or residents.
The regulation covers all workers, contract staff and facility volunteers who “could expose other covered staff, patients or residents” to the disease.
It requires that all medical and health care facilities, including home care agencies, periodically report to the State the lists of all vaccinated, unvaccinated, or qualified employees for a medical exemption.
As reported by The Post in recent weeks, a high rate of medical workers remain unvaccinated in hospitals and residences.
Nearly a quarter of hospital workers across the state (23%) are not yet vaccinated, according to DOH data released Wednesday.
In New York City, 25% of hospital workers are not vaccinated. Nearly a third of hospital workers are not vaccinated in Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Meanwhile, 29 percent of nursing home workers across the state have not received their shots of COVID-19.
In New York City, 28 percent of nursing home workers are not vaccinated. The worst rate is in Brooklyn, where 37 percent of employees have refused vaccination.
More than 55,000 deaths in New York are related to COVID-19, including 16,000 residents in residences.
The state has also experienced an increase in new Delta strain-related infections. Since early July, cases have multiplied by ten and 95% were identified as the most contagious variant.
State data show that unvaccinated people are five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 compared to people who receive their vaccines.
Those who are not vaccinated are more than 11 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 or die, according to a study published last week by the New York Department of Medicine (NYS DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. of the United States.
“COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. They offer the advantage of helping
reduce the number of COVID-19 infections, including the Delta variant, which is critical
component of public health protection, ”the DOH directive states.
“Certain environments, such as congregated medical centers and care centers, pose challenges and urgency to control the spread of this disease due to vulnerable patients and the resident populations they care for.
“Unvaccinated personnel in these environments have an unacceptably high risk of both acquiring COVID-19 and transmitting the virus to colleagues and / or vulnerable patients or residents, exacerbating staff shortages and causing an unacceptably high risk of complications, ”DOH officials say in order.
Currently, state medical facilities are required to offer the vaccine to workers and some have already begun to impose mandatory vaccination policies against COVID.
President Biden also announced last week that as a condition of participating in federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will impose new regulations that require nursing homes to require vaccination against the COVID-19 for workers.
“The Department has determined that these emergency regulations are necessary to control the spread of COVID-19 in the identified facilities or regulated entities … The current circumstances and the risk of spread to vulnerable residents and patients by the unvaccinated personnel in these environments require immediate action, ”said DOH.
