Duplicitous NY Governor issues two different sets of rules
ALBANY - Thousands of nurses and other medical personnel who work in state agencies that care for inmates or disabled and mentally ill individuals will not be mandated to receive coronavirus vaccinations or face the loss of their jobs - which was a policy that went into effect earlier this week for medical professionals in hospitals and other health care settings.
The stricter mandate imposed on Monday applies to workers in hospitals, including state-run facilities that fall under the authority of the state Department of Health or the state university system. It also extends to state-run optometry and dental schools, nursing homes and veterans facilities. But a second mandate that's scheduled to take effect Oct. 12 will give all other state employees, including thousands of nurses and physicians in executive-controlled agencies such as the Office of Mental Health and Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, the ability to be tested weekly for COVID-19 in lieu of being vaccinated. The Oct. 12 mandate also will apply to medical personnel who work in patient-care settings in state prisons.
It remains unclear how the testing will be conducted, and whether the state will pay the cost - roughly $75 per test - for performing potentially tens of thousands of tests per month. A spokesman for the Governor's Office of Employee Relations said the state "is in the process of finalizing the details on the testing process." The Public Employees Federation represents more than 5,000 nurses who work in the executive-controlled state agencies that will allow those employees to be tested weekly rather than be vaccinated. The governor's office and the state Department of Health did not respond to questions about why only one set of medical professionals are being mandated to get vaccinated.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/New-York-s-vaccine-mandate-doesn-t-apply-to-all-16497041.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-CP-Spotlight