NEW YORK – New York is expanding its vaccination mandate by adding health care workers in the Department of Mental Health and the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities to the state list of public employees who must be vaccinated.
Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during a news conference.
Due to this recent mandate, tens of thousands of employees of the Department of Mental Health (or DMH) and the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (or OPWDD) must receive the first dose of the vaccination before November 1. Weekly testing will begin on October 12 for those who are not vaccinated.
“We want to make sure we have security in [estos lugares] too, “said Hochul.
This latest development comes when home health aides and those who work in adult care facilities are required to receive their first dose by Thursday. The governor said she has already seen proof that she is working as 92 percent of staff at adult care facilities have fulfilled the mandate that will take effect later this week.
“This is a 77 percent increase when I took office on August 24 and we are getting close to the numbers we need to hit,” he said. “We are seeing that those deadlines have a way of focusing the mind on doing the right thing.”
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