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With just days or even hours to spare, thousands of health care workers got inoculated, according to health officials across the state. And while thousands more workers remained unvaccinated, and thus in danger of being suspended or fired, the rush of last-minute vaccinations appeared to blunt the worst-case scenarios for staffing shortages that some institutions had feared.(Otterman and Goldstein, 9/28)

Tens of thousands of health-care workers in New York are likely to have refused a coronavirus vaccine before a state requirement went into effect on Monday, serving as a preview of resistance that the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements will face on a bigger scale in coming weeks.Resistance to the coronavirus vaccines means large numbers of health-care workers could face dismissals or unpaid leaves of absence in the state, exacerbating an already existing labor shortage in the critical world of medical care during the pandemic.

It’s D-Day for mandates. New York’s largest hospital system, Northwell Health, began sacking staff who refused to get their coronavirus vaccine shots as Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to yield on her Monday deadline for health worker inoculations. Hochul stuck to her guns as many of the state’s major hospital and government employee unions continued their court battle to get the mandates tossed. “I’ve made it loud and clear that I’m not going to change my position,” Hochul said during a Monday morning press conference. “I’m charged with protecting the health of all New Yorkers.” Northwell — which operates Lennox Hospital in Manhattan and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens — confirmed it had fired roughly two dozen managers Monday after they repeatedly failed to get their shots. (Hicks, Hogan and Campanile, 9/27)

New York City health officials said that upwards of 5,000 employees in the city's public hospital system were not vaccinated as a statewide vaccine mandate took effect on Monday for health care workers, leaving them unable to report to work and get paid. Meanwhile, in another sign of tangible repercussions, representatives from the state’s largest private medical provider, Northwell Health, said it had fired about two dozen unvaccinated workers for missing the deadline and is looking into possibly terminating more people who may not have gotten the shot in time. (Kim and Nessen, 9/27)

Healthcare workers who are fired for refusal to comply with the state's COVID-19 vaccination mandate likely won't be eligible for unemployment insurance, according to state officials.  In a statement released Sept. 25, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said the New York Department of Labor has issued guidance to clarify that terminated workers won't be eligible for the benefits unless they have a valid physician-approved request for medical accommodation. The governor's office made the announcement at the same time it unveiled a plan to address staffing shortages  should a large number of healthcare workers leave hospitals and other facilities because of the state mandate. (Gooch, 9/27)