In-Depth: How many healthcare workers are inactive due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday released the number of medical workers still inactive due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in New York.

As of Nov. 10, 2021, more than 33,000 healthcare workers are considered "inactive." That includes nearly 13,000 who were terminated, about 3,700 who resigned or retired because they were unvaccinated and nearly 12,000 employees who were put on leave because they are not vaccinated.

About 5,000 of those inactive workers have agreed to get vaccinated.

That’s out of about 1 million healthcare workers in New York.

The vaccine mandate was originally announced by former governor Andrew Cuomo, who set the date for it to go into effect as Sept. 27. A judge put a temporary stay on the order, allowing employees to claim religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate, triggering an ongoing court battle. Different judges have ruled with the employees as well as with the state, with both sides appealing decisions.

Most recently, a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan sided with the state, lifting the requirement for employers to honor religious exemptions.