Hospital to pause delivering babies as maternity workers quit over vaccine mandate



An upstate New York hospital said it would soon pause the delivery of babies due to maternity unit workers quitting their jobs because of the COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

On Aug. 16, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state was implementing a vaccine mandate for all health care workers, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities, nursing homes, adult care, and other congregate care settings. Cuomo's order required all health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 27.

However, some health care workers are refusing to receive the coronavirus vaccine, which has caused hospitals to be short-staffed. At the Lewis County General Hospital in Lowville, New York, nearly half of the maternity ward employees at the hospital have resigned over the mandate or are considering not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

During a news conference on Friday afternoon, Lewis County Health System CEO Gerald Cayer announced that of the 30 hospital workers who have resigned, 21 are in clinical areas. There are six employees in the maternity who will quit over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and another seven who are undecided about getting the vaccine, according to WWNY-TV.

Cayer said the hospital will be unable to staff the maternity ward safely, and will pause delivering babies after Sept. 24. He noted that he hopes the closure will be temporary, and will seek assistance from the state's Department of Health to keep the maternity ward open, which was already short-staffed before the resignations. A hospital official said there is a "shortage of nursing staff in the region, pre-mandate."

"If we can pause the service and now focus on recruiting nurses who are vaccinated, we will be able to reengage in delivering babies here in Lewis County," Cayer said.

"Our hope is as we get closer (to the deadline), the numbers will increase of individuals who are vaccinated, fewer individuals will leave and maybe, with a little luck, some of those who have resigned will reconsider," Cayer said.

Cayer noted that 27% of the hospital's employees are unvaccinated against COVID-19.

The Lewis County Health System has five employees in quarantine, five employees in isolation, and four community members hospitalized who are COVID-positive.

Cayer said he supports the vaccine mandate, saying vaccines combined with masks provide the "highest level of protection."

"It just is a crazy time," Cayer stated. "Rural hospitals everywhere are really trying to figure out how we're going to make it work."

In Detroit, roughly 50 health care employees launched a lawsuit against the Henry Ford Health System over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The lawsuit claims that the forced vaccines violate the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of "personal autonomy and bodily integrity."

Vaccine mandates have also caused bus drivers to quit their jobs in Chicago.

In August, the Chicago Public Schools experienced a mass resignation of school bus drivers. Approximately 10% of drivers resigned before schools reopened.

"According to the bus companies, the rush of resignations was likely driven by the vaccination requirements," a statement from the district said. "As a result, the district went from being able to provide all eligible students a bus route, to being unable to accommodate transportation for approximately 2,100 students within a matter of days."

Some U.S. service members have voiced their hesitation to the vaccine mandates in a roundtable discussion with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

Cuomo Wants to Drag People Out of Their Homes?

Cuomo Wants to Drag People Out of Their Homes?

NY legislation would make COVID vaccine compulsory for residents: 'Concerning uptick in dangerous anti-science, anti-vax rhetoric'



A New York lawmaker has proposed a bill supporting mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19, according to WNYW-TV.

What are the details?

State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal — who represents portions of Manhattan's west side — says that if enough New York residents don't voluntarily get the COVID-19 vaccination when it's available, lawmakers should consider making the vaccine mandatory.

"While steps have been taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19, epidemiologist and public health experts have concluded that a vaccine will be necessary to develop herd immunity and ultimately stop the spread of the disease," Rosenthal's bill support memo stated, according to WNYW. "[T]he State must make efforts to promote vaccination and ensure that a high enough percentage of the population is vaccinated against COVID-19 to develop sufficient immunity."

The station noted, "Once the vaccination program has been rolled out for a while, the Department of Health would have the authority to 'mandate vaccination' to anyone who can 'safely receive the vaccine' if public health officials see that New Yorkers aren't developing 'sufficient immunity from COVID-19.'"

The bill, Assembly Bill A11179, would permit medically exempt people to abstain from receiving the vaccination if they receive proper documentation from a medical professional.

What else?

Rosenthal told WGRZ-TV that a forced vaccine is a "protective health measure."

"It's to ensure that our residents are safe and protected against further spread," she reasoned. "[T]he concept of herd immunity is very important, and not everyone will have to get the vaccination if a certain threshold of the population has gotten it."

WGRZ reports that Rosenthal "indicated that the threshold would have to be 75% to 80%.

"However, there is the possibility that we don't and in that event to protect the public health, the department of health of the state can then say that we need people to get the vaccination," Rosenthal added.

Earlier in December, New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, "You can't mandate that somebody takes the vaccine. ... We're trying to do it the other way — education, show that it's safe."

In a statement to WKBW-TV, Rosenthal said:

I introduced this legislation because like all of us, I have seen too many families ravaged by COVID-19. I have lost loved ones and friends and have seen too many people become sick and die from a disease that has wreaked havoc on every aspect of our lives for nearly a year. Now, as we get closer to the day when a lifesaving vaccine will finally be widely available to the American public, I am hearing a concerning uptick in dangerous anti-science, anti-vax rhetoric that has the potential to endanger our health, damage our economy and delay our return to normalcy.

If enough science deniers opt out of the voluntary vaccine process, we will not achieve the necessary level of community immunity, which will undermine the efficacy of our vaccination efforts statewide. Obviously, our hope is that with robust education and outreach, the vast majority of New Yorkers will volunteer to get vaccinated. If not, my new legislation will ensure that we achieve a safe level of community protection. Herd immunity won't protect everyone, but if a high enough percentage of the population gets vaccinated, then the likelihood of community spread is low enough to enable a return to normal life, for students, parents, small businesses – everyone, who has been struggling to stay afloat financially and emotionally for the last nine months. Our heroic medical professionals and support staff have been on the frontlines of this pandemic for too long. Achieving herd immunity will help lift the inordinate burden under which they have been toiling.