OPINION: State booster-shot mandate reversal is a win for health-care heroes

Under pressure from health-care providers, myself, and many other elected officials, the New York State Department of Health announced [Feb. 18] that it would not be enforcing a booster-shot mandate for health-care workers that was scheduled to start on [Feb. 21.]

This reversal is a win for our health-care heroes. It averted what would have truly been a disaster for upstate New York hospitals and the communities they serve. However, it is not the end of the fight. Our hospitals are still facing unprecedented staffing shortages because of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s existing vaccine mandate. 

Many local providers have experienced a 100 percent increase in staff turnover, and upstate hospitals are facing a 25 percent vacancy rate. Just to continue delivering vital services, hospitals have been forced to rely on visiting nurses or even the National Guard. Gov. Hochul should not stop at just scrapping the booster mandate — she should also reverse her existing vaccine mandate for health-care workers to ensure our communities have access to the care they deserve and that our health-care heroes can return to work doing what they love.      

Rep. Claudia Tenne​y (R–New Hartford), 61, currently represents the 22nd Congressional District of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district encompasses all of Oneida, Madison, Chenango, and Cortland counties, most of Broome County, and portions of Herkimer, Oswego, and Tioga counties. This article is drawn and edited from a statement that Tenney issued on Feb. 18