New York mandates ALL state workers must get the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing as Cuomo urges businesses to order employees back to the office by Labor Day and ONLY allow customers into bars and restaurants if they've had the shot
New York has mandated that all state workers get the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo frequent testing amid a rise in infections, driven by the spread of the Delta variant.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a Zoom call with the nonprofit Association for a Better New York on Wednesday that the state's roughly 250,000 government workers have until Labor Day - September 6 - to get vaccinated or face weekly testing to continue working in their public sector jobs.
Frontline healthcare workers at state-run hospitals, meanwhile, will have no choice but to get the shot in order to work, he said.
Those employees, at hospitals across areas including Syracuse, New York City and Long Island, will not be able to opt for testing as an alternative to getting the jab.
Cuomo admitted this was an 'aggressive step' but said 'we need dramatic action to get control of this situation' as cases have surged 400 percent since the end of June.
The governor also called on private businesses to order their employees back to the office by Labor Day and to only allow vaccinated customers into bars, restaurants and theaters in a move to 'incentivize' more New Yorkers to get vaccinated.
The 'aggressive' moves mark the latest effort from officials to ramp up the vaccine rollout as inoculation against the virus has stalled nationwide and the Delta variant is sending COVID-19 cases soaring again.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured Wednesday) has mandated that all state workers must get the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo frequent testing amid a rise in infections, driven by the spread of the Delta variant
Cuomo called the vaccine rules for state workers 'smart' as he vowed to try to prevent a repeat of the start of the pandemic, where New York was the virus epicenter of the world.
'We have to go back and remember what we learned, painfully but successfully, over the past 18 months.
'We did have COVID first and worst in the nation,' he said.
Mandating state workers get the shot is 'smart, it's fair and it's in everyone's interest,' he said.
'What we're seeing is a pandemic among those unvaccinated people, but it affects everyone.'
Cuomo said the mandate for all patient-facing healthcare workers would 'help keep both patients and workers safe.'
'There will be no testing option for patient-facing health care workers. That is a point of contact that could be a serious spreading event and we want to make sure those health care workers are vaccinated - period,' he said.
He acknowledged not everyone would be happy with the move.
'It is an aggressive step. And there will be pushback,' he said.
There about 256,500 state employees, according to New York state payroll system data.
It was not immediately clear if the mandate would cover employees outside of executive agencies, like state court workers.
New York state regulations already require hospital workers to be vaccinated against measles and rubella.
Cuomo announced Wednesday that the state's roughly 250,000 government workers have until Labor Day - September 6 - to get vaccinated or face weekly testing to continue working in their public sector jobs
The governor called on local governments across New York to follow suit as he said officials will work with state unions to implement the policy quickly.
Some unions representing government workers in New York City have objected to the 'get vaccinated or get tested' mandate there, which is set to take effect in mid-September.
CSEA President Mary Sullivan, whose union represents New York state and local government workers, said it supports Cuomo's vaccination policy.
' cannot slide backwards now or we put our members, workers, our families, children and all of us at greater risk,' she said.
This summer, the state's public university system launched its own vaccinate-or-test policy for employees, according to SUNY spokesperson Leo Rosales.
United University Professions president Fred Kowal said the additional mandate for some state hospital workers announced by Cuomo would have to be negotiated, 'which I am willing to negotiate.'
However, Republicans blasted Cuomo's announcement with state Senator George Borrello saying state workers who fought COVID-19 on the frontlines 'don't deserve to be bullied into being vaccinated.'
DOJ says government agencies and companies CAN force employees to get COVID vaccines
The DOJ has issued an opinion confirming that federal law does not prohibit public or private employers from requiring workers to get COVID-19 vaccines that are under emergency use authorization by the FDA.
The recent opinion upholds recent moves by New York City, California, and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to require some or all employees to get vaccinated.
It also paves the way for more private businesses and public agencies to issue their own vaccine mandates, as more have sought to do with the Delta variant raging and the vaccination rollout slumping in the face of hardened resistance.
The DOJ opinion dated earlier this month found that the law concerning emergency use authorizations 'does not prohibit entities from imposing vaccination requirements.'
Cuomo's office didn't immediately respond to questions about who will pay for testing for unvaccinated workers, potential penalties for unwilling workers, and whether workers at state-run veterans homes must get vaccinated.
Cuomo also urged school districts to consider vaccination-or-testing policies if numbers keep increasing.
'A school can become a superspreader,' he said. 'We've seen that too many times in the past.'
His comments mark a shift from last fall, when he and other New York officials said the available data suggested schools weren't driving COVID-19 infection.
While the state can mandate vaccination for state employees, Cuomo is unable to implement a similar mandate for private sector businesses without the support of state lawmakers.
However, he said private businesses can legally introduce their own rules.
The governor called on businesses to do so, urging them to turn away customers who have refused to take the shot.
'You can admit vaccinated only people into your establishment.
'I can argue that it is a smart business practice, because I want to go to a safe restaurant,' Cuomo said.
'And it will be an incentive for people to actually get the vaccine. And I urge you all to do it.'
He urged private businesses to also bring their workers back to the office by this fall in an effort to boost the state's economy, by increasing footfall in public places.
'We need people coming back. We can do it safely, we can do it smartly,' Cuomo said.
'Say to your workforce, by Labor Day, everyone is back in the office.'
He added: 'Everyone has to be back to the office... We need that volume to support the shops, the restaurants, the services.'
The renewed drive to encourage New Yorkers to get vaccinated comes as cases are rising in the Empire State - a trend seen across the US.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that all New York City employees will be required to get a COVID test starting on September 13 if they are not vaccinated against the virus
Cuomo announced 2,203 new daily infections Wednesday, pointing out that just one month back cases stood at just 275 as he warned that the numbers show the Delta variant is 'real.'
'There is no doubt that the delta variant is real. You see it in the numbers. Today we have 2,203 new COVID-19 cases statewide,' he said.
'One month ago today we had 275 new cases, so the increase in the numbers is real.'
New infections have climbed more than 400 percent since the end of June, and hospitalizations have jumped 68 percent over the past two weeks.
The Delta variant now makes up almost three quarters (72 percent) of cases in the state, Cuomo said Monday.
In New York, vaccine take-up has been high compared to other parts of the country.
Cuomo said around 75 percent of all adults have had at least one dose of the vaccine.
Nationwide, 69.1 percent of people aged 18 and over had received at least one dose, with 60.1 percent fully vaccinated as of July 27, according to the CDC.
This is still short of Joe Biden's goal for 70 percent of adults to have at least one shot by the July 4 holiday as vaccination rates stalled over the past few months.
In mandating either the shots or frequent testing for government workers, Cuomo is following on the heels of California and New York City, which announced similar policies for employees earlier this week, as well as a pending announcement from the president.
Starting September 13, all city employees in the Big Apple will be required to either get a vaccine or take a test every week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.
This expanded the existing requirement from just requiring Health and Human Services and those in 'congregate and residential settings' to get vaccinated or take a test each week.
Workers now covered by the policy include those that work for the Department of Education and the New York Police Department.
De Blasio also said that the unvaccinated will be required to wear masks at all times indoors and that anyone who refuses to wear a mask may be put on leave.
The mayor also announced a new incentive Wednesday to sweeten the pot by offering $100 to any city resident who gets a first dose of a vaccine at a city-run site.
New York City and the state have already offered vaccination incentives including lottery tickets, scholarships, free subway rides and complimentary tickets to museums, sports games and other attractions.
California has said it will similarly require proof of vaccination or weekly testing for all state workers and millions of public- and private-sector health care employees starting next month.
Joe Biden arrived in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. The president is expected to announce a new policy that all federal employees be vaccinated or undergo regular testing
Meanwhile, Biden said Tuesday that mandatory vaccination was 'under consideration' for all federal workers.
The president is expected to announce Thursday a new policy that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated or undergo regular testing.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has already announced it will require frontline health care workers to be vaccinated over the course of the next two months while a growing number of hospitals and nursing homes across the US have already implemented their own vaccine mandates.
In light of a recent opinion by the Department of Justice, it is likely more businesses and agencies will follow suit.
The DOJ issued an opinion confirming federal law does not ban public or private employers from requiring workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, paving the way for more private businesses and public agencies to issue mandates.
With the Delta variant spreading and cases rising, the CDC backpedaled on its mask guidance Tuesday, recommending fully vaccinated Americans return to wearing masks indoors in areas with high transmission rates.
The US recorded 89,418 cases on Monday with a seven-day rolling average of 57,446, which is an 84 percent rise from the 31,078 average recorded a week and a half ago, according to Johns Hopkins data.
NYC will pay ANYONE $100 who gets their first dose of the COVID vaccine at a city-run site, beginning Friday
Starting Friday, New Yorkers will be eligible for $100 when they receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a city-run site.
Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement at his Wednesday daily briefing as part of an effort to turn around a slowdown in vaccinations in the city.
'The only way we're going to keep this recovery going is for more and more people to get vaccinated,' he said.
So far 9.9million vaccine doses have been administered to New York City residents, de Blasio announced, and overall 54.4 percent of the city population has been fully vaccinated according to Department of Health figures, but infections are on the rise, with a seven-day average positivity rate of 2.55 percent.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that New Yorkers will be eligible for $100 when they receive their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a city-run site
It would appear that the increase in infections is driven at least in part by the spread of the highly contagious Indian Delta variant, which has accounted for 57 percent of cases recorded in the city over the past four weeks.
'Starting Friday, get vaccinated, get that first dose, get qualified to go to all sorts of amazing things, and get $100 incentive,' the mayor said. 'It does not get any better than that.'
Statewide, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced Wednesday that all state public employees will be required to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing, and that he was aiming to work with public unions to have the mandate in place by Labor Day.
The mayor's announcement of the incentive came as 54.4 percent of city residents have been vaccinated so far
The move came three days after the mayor announced that he was expanding vaccine requirements to all 314,000 city employees, not just those in Health and Human Services and those in 'congregate and residential settings' by Sept. 13.
'We've talked the last few days about mandates, and there's no question in my mind mandates are a crucial part of the solution,' de Blasio said Wednesday, 'but we also still believe in incentives.'
Municipal employees who remain unvaccinated will be required to wear masks at all times.
'We unfortunately have to be very tough if a city government employee does not wear masks indoors if they're unvaccinated,' de Blasio said, with health officials later announcing that those who do not wear masks may be put on leave.
Last week, the mayor announced that employees at the city's public hospitals and in Health Department community clinics would be required to get their vaccinations by next Monday, or begin submitting to weekly COVID tests.
And those in publicly-run residential or congregate care facilities, like nursing homes, would be required to present a proof of vaccination by August 16 or submit to weekly tests.
Infections, however, are on the rise and appear to be driven in part by the spread of the highly contagious Indian delta variant, which made up 57 percent of positive cases in the city over the past four weeks
As of last week, the New York Police Department announced that it had only vaccinated about 43 percent of its force, The Hill reports.
'Since vaccines became available we have encouraged our employees, especially those who have contact with the public, to get vaccinated,' the NYPD said in a statement at the time.
When asked about this low vaccination rate in the police force, de Blasio said the NYPD and 'every other agency gotta do better. We gotta go further.'
To help with these efforts, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that the state is allocating $15 million to community vaccination organizations.
'These orgs have the expertise to move the needle in areas with high positivity and low vax rates,' the governor tweeted, adding: 'We've made incredible progress against COVID - but there's more work to do.'
Speaking to WNYC on Friday, the mayor reiterated that more needed to be done as the Delta variant continues to spread.
'We tried purely voluntary for over half a year,' he told WNYC on Friday, according to the New York Post. 'We tried every form of incentives. But now we've got to go further, we've reached the limits of a purely voluntary system.
'It's time for more mandates.'
'We've tried everything else and we got results, but we need more' people to get vaccinated.