Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22)

NEW YORK – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) this week sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul asking that she immediately rescind her vaccine mandate, which has created a labor crisis that is pushing hospitals across New York to the brink.

In her letter, Tenney highlighted problems caused recently by forced layoffs at the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS), in large part due to the Governor’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.

MVHS announced last week that the National Guard and paramedics are being called upon to fill critical staffing gaps. Tenney has heard from numerous constituents who raised concerns about rationed care and elective procedures being cancelled. Pushing off elective and other preventive care measures has well-documented negative long-term health implications for individuals.   

In part, Tenney writes,  “I strongly hope you will consider the stories coming directly from healthcare workers on the ground, who are seeing the horrific impacts of your mandate, and ultimately take action to reverse it. New Yorkers need our courageous healthcare heroes now more than ever. Our healthcare heroes must not be portrayed as villains after serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly a year before any vaccine ever became widely available.”

A signed copy of the letter can be found here, and full text is included below. 

Dear Governor Hochul, 

As a direct result of your draconian COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in our state, massive staffing shortages are now pushing hospitals across New York’s 22ndCongressional District and throughout the state to the brink. While the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to our communities, your policies and overreaching mandates have seriously compounded the problems. We are now paying the price. I ask that you prioritize the wellbeing of our constituents and communities and rescind your misguided vaccine mandates.

The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS), which operates multiple hospitals and clinics throughout my district, was recently forced to terminate 100 employees for non-compliance with your mandate. This was on top of another 180 employees who already had been lost back in September when it first went into effect. Our community simply cannot absorb or easily recover from the loss of these healthcare heroes. Now, MVHS is being forced to bring in local paramedics and even the National Guard to help replace some of these lost staff members. 

These mandate-induced staffing shortages are a major threat to the health and wellbeing of my constituents. Hospitals are seeing a massive influx of patients seeking acute care, likely because of preventative care put off at the height of the pandemic, and I am hearing from constituents across upstate New York who are experiencing rationed care. Unfortunately, MVHS is hardly the only example of the negative impacts of your vaccine mandate. Numerous hospitals and healthcare systems around New York have documented similar and worsening conditions.

I support voluntary COVID-19 vaccination efforts. The vaccine has proved to be safe and effective for a large array of people, and I am grateful that President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed harnessed the best of America's innovation and talent to develop robust vaccines faster than any other country. However, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made clear, while COVID-19 vaccines prevent serious illness and can reduce the risk of people spreading the virus, they are not effective in every case at preventing it. Based on all the publicly available information, Americans must have freedom in their medical decisions. Politicians in Albany or Washington should not be firing any individuals for the medical decisions they make. 

I strongly hope you will consider the stories coming directly from healthcare workers on the ground, who are seeing the horrific impacts of your mandate, and ultimately take action to reverse it. New Yorkers need our courageous healthcare heroes now more than ever. Our healthcare heroes must not be portrayed as villains after serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly a year before any vaccine ever became widely available. 

I would appreciate a response to this no later than December 17, as time is of the essence. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. 

– From Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22)