US: New York to deploy National Guard to replace unvaccinated medical staff

In order to compensate for the staffing shortages due to the recent COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the healthcare sector workers, including the nurses, the United States’ New York is expected to deploy the medically trained National Guard, a new plan released by Governor Kathy Hochul revealed Sunday. The document ‘Preparation of State of Emergency Declaration’ was released as the deadline for Monday, September 27 for the healthcare workers to compulsorily get coronavirus vaccination or lose their jobs, approached. The government has asked all healthcare workers in New York to get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Monday. As of September 26, as many as 84 percent of all hospital employees were fully inoculated. But healthcare systems in the United States fear that they will struggle with the dearth of healthcare workers as experienced nurses across several hospitals aren't vaccinated for COVID-19 and do not plan to. Biden administration, earlier last week, laid out a new federal mandate for COVID-19 vaccine to control the upsurge of the pandemic. 

"We're in a tough stretch, and it could last for a while," Biden conceded at a White House address. “But we can and we will turn the tide on COVID-19,” he added, as he issued a new emergency rule issued by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration that mandates vaccines for staff, a move condemned by Republicans, and RNC that plans to sue Democrats. 

State requests for DMATs assistance 

In her emergency plan on Sunday, Governor Hochul declared recruiting medical professionals from other countries, including recent medicine graduates and retired and formerly practising health care professionals. She announced that the National Guard would fill in for the dismissed non-vaccinated nurses and health workers. The state also requested the US Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), working with the federal government to expedite the visa requests for medical professionals to be employed in place of those that will be fired if they choose not to get the COVID-19 shot. 

“I commend all of the healthcare workers who have stepped up to get themselves vaccinated, and I urge all remaining healthcare workers who are unvaccinated to do so now so they can continue providing care,” NY governor told a presser. 

She stressed that the state was “still in its battle against COVID-19 to protect our loved ones.” 

As the shortfall in the medical workforce is expected to widen due to large numbers of professionals not being able to adhere to the state's vaccination deadline, New York plans to get onboard the licensed members from outside of the state. Earlier yesterday, the state’s labour department rolled out guidance outlining a drastic measure that stressed, healthcare workers terminated due to refusal for administering the COVID-19 vaccines will not be allowed to resume duties and will neither be entitled to unemployment insurance. 

While many Americans in the Southern Tier chose what they labelled “taking the risk” by getting the COVID-19 shot months after the protests, many others told domestic outlets that getting jabbed was a matter of a personal choice. Reports confirmed that a quarter of the staff across the nursing care facilities and adult care homes, nearly 23 percent and 19 percent were still unvaccinated. Some 450,000 hospital staff is vaccine-hesitant as they have refused to take the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in New York.

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