Appeals court temporarily blocks NY vaccine mandate

NY Health workers win religious exemption delay to vaccine mandate

An appeals court has temporarily blocked New York State from enforcing its vaccine mandate on healthcare workers who do not want to get the shot due to religious beliefs.

NEW YORK - A federal appeals court has put a temporary hold on New York State rule that forces healthcare workers to get vaccinated.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued an order Thursday that the stay on enforcement against people with religious objections will remain in effect until an appeal is resolved. It scheduled arguments for Oct. 14.

A suit was filed on behalf of workers who claimed religious objections as a reason for not getting the coronavirus vaccine.

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Only a small number of New York healthcare workers have sought a religious exemption.

More than 15,000 nursing home patients have died in New York during the pandemic. Health officials have said many of those patients were probably infected by nursing home staff before vaccines became available.

With the Associated Press