Update 9/16
On September 14, a federal district court judge in New York State temporarily blocked enforcement of the portion of New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers that excluded religious exemption as the basis for a reasonable accommodation. Read the announcement to learn more.
Original message posted August 23, 2021:
UR Medicine leadership participated in a call last week with New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) representatives to gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo last Monday. At this time, the Medical Center’s understanding is that the mandate will apply to everyone who works within a licensed health care facility. This means that all faculty, staff, and students who work or study in a patient care facility (inpatient, outpatient, and procedure areas) will be required to receive a first dose of the vaccine by the state’s September 27 deadline; testing is no longer an available option per NYSDOH. It also appears that the state will approve limited criteria for medical or religious exemptions.
It remains unclear how the mandate may apply to those who have job duties at our off-site business locations, along with our academic and research areas. However, the University’s previously announced plan to require testing for unvaccinated employees continues for those outside of the NYSDOH health-care worker vaccine mandate.
Read the full update that Medical Center leadership shared with faculty, staff, and students last week. Note: Those outside the Medical Center network will need to use their Active Directory credentials to view the full message on the Medical Center’s intranet.