New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said that hospital and nursing home staff who refuse to be vaccinated against coronavirus will be replaced, potentially by foreigners, the New York Post reported.
The state's vaccine mandate is set to go into effect on September 27 and will apply to all those who do not have a medical exemption.
Meanwhile, NY Health Department data shows that a full 19% of hospital employees and 18% of nursing home employees have refused to get vaccinated.
"To those who won’t, we’ll be replacing people. And I have a plan that’s going to be announced very shortly," Hochul told reporters. "We’ve identified a whole range of opportunities we have to help supplement them."
She added that state officials are "working closely with various hospital systems to find out where we can get other individuals to come in and supplement places like nursing homes."
"We’re also reaching out to the Department of State to find out about visas for foreign workers, on a limited basis, to bring more nurses over here."