New York’s Supreme Court has upheld its previous ruling invalidating the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, a decision that will have ramifications on the power of the state’s executive.
The ruling came from the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department, which dismissed the state’s appeal to have the mandate reinstated.
“4th Dept dismissed state’s appeal as moot, and declined to vacate lower court win,” attorney Sujata Gibson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Breaking news in NY HC worker lawsuit! 4th Dept dismissed state’s appeal as moot, and declined to vacate lower court win. The mandate is over and declared unconstitutional. Ty @ChildrensHD @RobertKennedyJr @hcw4choice and everyone who helped in this fight. Doesn’t make up for the…
— Sujata Gibson (@sujatagibson) October 6, 2023
“The mandate is over and declared unconstitutional,” she continued. “[Thank you] [Children’s Health Defense], [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.], and [Medical Professionals For Informed Consent], and everyone who helped in this fight.
“Doesn’t make up for the harm [New York] Inflicted, but will help protect us from more.”
The health care worker vaccine mandate was first implemented in September 2021, resulting in the departure or termination of about 34,000 medical professionals from their positions.
That mandate was originally struck down by the state’s Supreme Court in January, although the state’s executive branch chose to appeal the decision.
In his opinion in Medical Professionals for Informed Consent vs. Bassett, Justice Gerard Neri wrote that the state’s Department of Health was “clearly prohibited from mandating any vaccination outside of those specifically authorized by the legislature” and that it had “blatantly violated the boundaries of its authority as set forth by the legislature.”
Justice Neri added that the mandate was “arbitrary and capricious” given that the COVID-19 vaccines failed to prevent transmission of the virus, meaning the policy had no rational basis.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, had previously explained her opposition to rehiring health care workers who lost their jobs as a result of the vaccine, saying that this was “not the right answer.”
“I think everybody who goes into a health care facility or a nursing home should have the assurance and their family member should know that we have taken all steps to protect the public health,” she said at the time. “And that includes making sure those who come in contact with them at their time of most vulnerability, when they are sick or elderly, will not pass on the virus.”
By Benjamin Kew
