New York requiring vaccine or testing for workers in city hospitals, clinics

New York City will be requiring public health employees to get the coronavirus vaccine or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is expected to announce the new policy on Wednesday. It will affect the more than 42,000 people who work for the public hospital system in the city, the mayor’s spokesperson said on Tuesday, The New York Times reported. 

The policy will apply to the 10 percent of city government workers who work in the 11 hospitals in the public hospital system. 

The move comes as almost 60 percent of public health employees are vaccinated, which is lower than expected, according to the NYT.

“It’s all about the safety of a health care setting,” Bill Neidhardt, the mayor’s press secretary, said regarding the new policy.

The decision also comes as the highly contagious delta variant has been sweeping across the country. The variant is largely impacting the unvaccinated.

This is the first time de Blasio has moved to require any proof of vaccination for workers, city officials said, the NYT noted. 

Other hospital systems across the country have set up requirements to get the coronavirus vaccine, a decision that has caused some litigation.

The Hill has reached out to de Blasio’s office for comment.