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A New York state appellate court on Monday temporarily blocked the repeal of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
The ruling came after Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration appealed a Jan. 13 ruling by state Supreme Court Judge Gerard Neri that struck down the statewide mandate, declaring it “null, void, and of no effect” and holding that the New York State Department of Health lacked the authority to impose it.
Judge Neri’s ruling also determined the mandate was “arbitrary and capricious” on the basis that COVID-19 vaccines do not stop transmission of the virus, thereby eliminating any rational basis for such a policy.
Following nearly a month of deliberations, a state appellate court granted Hochul’s request for the stay on the condition the appeal is finalized on or before March 20, with oral arguments on the merits of the case scheduled for May 15.
“It is extremely unfortunate that the governor and the New York State Department of Health are standing firm on their irrational healthcare worker COVID-19 shot mandate in the midst of a severe healthcare worker shortage, especially as the vaccine fails to stop disease spread,” said Mary Holland, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) president and general counsel.
“The good news is that the Appellate Division will hear the case on an expedited basis, as early as May, and will resolve the issue.”
CHD is sponsoring a lawsuit challenging the mandate. Sujata Gibson, lead counsel on the case, also commented on Monday’s ruling.
“The legal issues here are clear,” Gibson said. “Plaintiffs remain hopeful that justice will prevail when the court considers this case on the merits.”
New York’s COVID-19 mandate for healthcare workers took effect in September 2021, prompting 34,000 medical workers, or 3% of the workforce at the time, to quit or be fired instead of getting the shots.
In October 2022, Medical Professionals for Informed Consent — a group of medical practitioners affected by the mandate — and additional plaintiffs, including two doctors, a nurse, a radiologic technologist and a medical laboratory specialist sued to overturn the mandate.
The lawsuit named the state’s health department, Hochul and Mary T. Bassett, the state’s health commissioner, as defendants.
The lawsuit alleged the plaintiffs had lost — or were at imminent risk of losing — their jobs, and that several of them had religious objections to receiving the vaccine, but the mandate did not recognize those exemptions.
