MTA, Port Authority Workers Face Mandatory Vaccinations, Testing

LONG ISLAND, NY — MTA and Port Authority workers are the next group to face mandatory vaccinations or weekly testing for the coronavirus as of Labor Day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

The news follows Cuomo's recent announcement that, following a similar move in the federal government, all state employees must be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing and all state hospital employees must be vaccinated, with no testing option.

The changes will be implemented as of Labor Day, he said.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance to say that in areas where the delta variant is causing a spike in numbers and vaccination rates are low, even fully vaccinated people should mask up indoors. The CDC also recommends that everyone in schools from kindergarten through 12th grade wear a mask, whether they are vaccinated or not.

With the delta variant causing an uptick in cases, Cuomo said it's a "serious" situation, citing the situation on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where researchers found vaccinated people can spread the virus.

In New York, coronavirus hospitalizations doubled and new cases increased fourfold over a month due to the delta variant, Cuomo said.

"If you are unvaccinated, it's a major concern," he said.

Seventy-five percent of New Yorkers have gotten at least one vaccine shot, but 24 percent, or 3.5 million, remain unvaccinated, the governor said.

"How bad can it get? No one knows," Cuomo said.

Potentially, if 25 percent of the unvaccinated get sick, that would equal 1.79 million cases; if 50 percent of the unvaccinated got sick, that would mean 3.58 million cases; and 75 percent would translate to 5.37 million cases, compared to 900,000 cases last year and 2.1 million cases statewide to date, Cuomo said.

The worst-case scenario, he said, is that the virus could mutate and become vaccination-resistant, demanding the need to develop a new vaccination.

Employers are able to mandate vaccinations for employees, Cuomo said. He urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant final approval for the vaccinations — they are currently being administered under an emergency use authorization.

If the vaccines are federally approved, Cuomo has more authority to mandate vaccinations for state schools and colleges and for local governments in areas with a high number of cases, he said. As it stands, schools themselves can mandate vaccinations for teachers, staff, and bus drivers, because schools are employers, he said. If numbers continue to rise, schools should consider "dramatic action," he said.

If the numbers don't come down, Cuomo said he urged nursing homes and school districts should consider mandatory vaccinations for employees and teachers and local governments should consider mandating the vaccination for all front-facing employees.

Should the FDA approve the vaccinations, the New York State Legislature could mandate vaccinations for schools but that will be politically contentious, Cuomo said.

If the numbers continue to rise and local governments don't address the situation now, down the line the state could once again be forced to take emergency action, Cuomo said.

For those that are vaccinated, the likelihood of catching the coronavirus or becoming hospitalized is low, Cuomo said. As of the week July 19, among the fully vaccinated, there were 4 cases per 100,000 with .19 per 100,000 hospitalized. For that same week, among the unvaccinated, there were 17 cases per 100,000 reported with 1.25 per 100,000 hospitalized, he said.

Cuomo said the push for vaccinations will continue; he is asking private businesses to go to "vaccine-only admission" and to make use of the Excelsior pass, the state app that can be used to check a person's vaccination status.

As it stands, the mask mandate is recommended by the CDC but it's up to local governments, which should enforce whatever policies they adopt, Cuomo said.

"The mask policy will be important but I don't think it will be enough," Cuomo said. "I think we will have to talk about a vaccination policy."