Vaccination deadline arrives for NY healthcare workers

By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As the deadline closed in for hospital and nursing home workers in New York state to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Kathy Hochul made an 11th-hour plea to holdout healthcare workers to get inoculated. Hospitals and nursing homes braced for the prospect of severe staff shortages fueled by workers getting suspended or fired for refusing to be inoculated. With thousands of workers still thought to be holding out, administrators prepared contingency plans that included cutting back on noncritical services and limiting admissions at nursing homes. Hochul said health care workers in New York  are required to be vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of Monday.