BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York’s Governor has a something of a habit at news conferences of asking a question and answering it. Monday, at his COVID briefing Andrew Cuomo did that again.
“So, what do we do now?”
There was a brief pause and then, “Everybody has to get vaccinated.”
While state government once again beefs-up its ability to deliver vaccinations, Cuomo is calling upon businesses to start shunning the un-vaccinated.
“Private businesses, I am asking them and suggesting to them go to vaccine only admission,” said the Governor who pitched that it would be good for businesses that made that decision.
But also at today’s news event, Cuomo outlined some of what is prepared to do if cases of the COVID delta variant continue to rise.
“Mandatory vaccination for nursing home workers, if the numbers go up. Mandatory vaccinations for teachers, if the numbers go up,” said Cuomo.
New York State United Teachers, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state responded with a statement that stated NYSUT was ready to encourage vaccinations on the local level but closed with, “What we have not supported is a vaccine mandate.”
But the head of largest local teachers’ union says he thinks his members would support a mandate to be vaccinated to return to school buildings. Phil Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation tells 2 On Your Side based on conversations he’s had with union members, “Most teachers are concerned about the kid, especially the younger kids and they don’t have any problem with having a vaccine mandate.”
What is currently missing from Cuomo’s talk of mandates is the data he and his team will rely on to determine restrictive measures are necessary. The Governor and his office offered no benchmarks in terms of cases, hospitalizations, ICU patients or deaths.
Monday’s news puts school districts on notice that they may rapidly be asked to enforce a vaccine requirement for teachers and likely staff. And even without updated guidance from the state education department, the chief medical officer for Buffalo Public Schools said he was confident the district could handle the job, “It is a lot of work right now. We have to really look ahead and make some guesses but educated guesses at to what it’s going to look like in September.”
Currently, the Governor does not have legal authority to issue such orders unless state lawmakers pass legislation as they did last year when the pandemic first swept through the state.