Enforcement of Healthcare Worker Booster Requirement Will No Longer Go Into Effect on February 21

The New York State Department of Health today highlighted progress in getting healthcare workers boosted and announced additional efforts to increase booster rates among healthcare workers.  

According to the latest data reported to New York State by healthcare facilities, 75% of the State’s healthcare workforce have either received or are willing to receive a booster, including 88% among direct care staff in hospitals. 

The State will continue to work closely with hospitals and healthcare facilities to make sure employees are up to date on their vaccines. Efforts will focus on expanding access for healthcare workers to receive a booster dose, including bringing boosters directly to healthcare settings.

“The vaccine and booster are critical tools to keep both healthcare workers and their patients safe, and we continue to urge everyone to get vaccinated and receive a booster dose when eligible,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett.

She added, “While we are making progress with 75% of staff received or are willing to receive their booster, the reality is that not enough healthcare workers will be boosted by next week’s requirement in order to avoid substantial staffing issues in our already overstressed healthcare system. That is why we are announcing additional efforts to work closely with healthcare facilities and ensure that our healthcare workforce is up to date on their doses.” 

In order to avoid potential staffing issues and give healthcare workers more time to get boosted, the State will no longer enforce the booster requirement that will go into effect on Feb. 21. The State will reassess in three months whether additional steps need to be taken to increase booster rates among the healthcare workforce. The original vaccination requirement for healthcare workers remains in effect.

See below a healthcare workforce booster summary as of Feb. 15, 2022: 

TOTAL STAFF: 

	Received Booster	Willing and Awaiting Booster	Total	As a % of Total Staff
Hospitals	278,164	154,598	432,762	84%
Nursing Homes	62,540	12,536	75,076	51%
Adult Care Facilities	14,548	4,359	18,907	63%
LHCSAs (Home Care)	83,341	106,292	189,633	70%
Hospice	3,719	2,088	5,807	95%
CHHAs (Home Care)	6,680	4,646	11,326	84%
Total	448,992	284,519	733,511	75%

DIRECT CARE STAFF: 

	Received Booster	Willing and Awaiting Booster	Total	As a % of Total Direct Care Staff
Hospitals	188,732	119,565	308,297	88%
Nursing Homes	39,621	8,574	48,195	51%
Adult Care Facilities	6,888	2,491	9,379	62%
LHCSAs (Home Care)	75,583	96,695	172,278	68%
Hospice	2,627	1,419	4,046	91%
CHHAs (Home Care)	5,205	3,594	8,799	85%
Total	318,656	232,338	550,994	76%