New York state might resort to using National Guard members to replace health care workers who haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a statement on Sept. 25, Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said that options to deal with hospital staffing shortages include deploying medically trained members of the National Guard. The situation would allow her to declare an emergency to increase the supply of health care workers to include licensed workers from other states, other countries, and retired nurses.