ALBANY, N.Y.—New York state lawmakers returning for the 2022 legislative session were met by hundreds of demonstrators who gathered outside the state Capitol to protest a host of measures that would tighten already strict COVID-19 vaccine rules across the state.
As Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address, the protesters on the west lawn of the Capitol building spoke out against her decisions related to the pandemic response, including the extension of the mask mandate through Feb. 1 and the vaccine mandate for health care workers—now temporarily blocked by a judge, among other policies her administration inherited from the Andrew Cuomo era.
