Lawyer: New York governor uses God unfairly in vaccine fight
ABC News
A lawyer for a group trying to preserve a religious exemption for health care workers says New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is unjustly using God's name to try to nudge employers into ignoring court orders allowing the exemption
NEW YORK -- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has encouraged religious-minded people to get a COVID-19 vaccine by saying it is God's will that they get inoculated.
A lawyer argued before a federal appeals court Wednesday that the Democrat's comments about God could be encouraging hospitals and nursing homes to ignore court orders that — for now — are supposed to prevent them from punishing workers who won't take the vaccine because of religious objections.
Health care institutions across New York this week began suspending workers who failed to meet a state deadline to get a COVID-19 shot. Statewide, about 92% of hospital and nursing home staff had received at least one dose as of the vaccine as of Wednesday morning, according to figures from Hochul's office.
New York's vaccine mandate for health care workers doesn't include a religious exemption, but because of legal challenges, courts have temporarily barred employers from enforcing the mandate against people with a sincerely held religious belief against vaccination.
