ALBANY, NY (WSKG) - Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday that she believes the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy for health care workers is largely a success, even though some hospitals around the state have had to shut down some urgent care centers due to a staffing shortage.
A number of hospital chains in New York have temporarily closed or limited services at their urgent care centers, citing an ongoing staffing shortage made worse by the governor’s September 27 mandate that all hospital employees get vaccinated or lose their jobs.
Hochul said the state has identified student nurses and retired health care professionals to be on stand-by to help ease the crunch, but she says the hospitals have not asked for help to keep the centers open.
“We’re waiting to hear from them. You have a problem you know how to reach us,” said Hochul, who added that health department officials have been in conversation with the hospitals.
“It’s not going to be perfect,” Hochul said. “I said that day one.”
The governor said all of the state’s hospitals are required to have an emergency staffing plan in place to make up for shortages, and she questioned whether the hospitals were deploying those plans.
Overall, the governor said the vaccine mandate is working, with at least 92% of the hospital workers receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. And she says patients have the right to expect that the health care professionals who treat them are vaccinated against the virus.