vaccine mandate

“You could probably assume that we have the same type of vaccination rate that the rest of Broome county does. So about a third of our sixteen to seventeen hundred employees are probably not vaccinated.”

The decision only allows health care workers to request religious exemptions to the mandate, for the time being.

Workers who are represented by one of 14 collective bargaining contracts can still opt for weekly testing in lieu of a vaccine.

“People are tired, and we’ve seen a significant resurgence here. There’s a significant demand in our emergency rooms, in our COVID unit, in our ICU, and so, we need all hands on deck.”

Employees must get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8th or face termination.

"If those people can't get tested and those people don't get vaccinated, then they're not going to be able to go to school and that is going to cause major problems for schools to be able to be reopened."

Cuomo said his administration is doing a “full review” of its mask policies, now that the CDC has altered its recommendations.