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If a conflict at one New York hospital over vaccine mandates for health care workers is any indication, the Biden administration's new effort to mandate vaccines for millions of workers could be in

The White House is taking steps to require that millions of American workers, like federal workers, contractors, and certain health care workers, get a COVID-19 vaccine.

What you need to know

 workers who are employed at hospitals, home health agencies, and other types of medical facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

In New York, where former Gov. Andrew Cuomo 

 that all health care workers in the state get a vaccine, employees at hospitals and long-term care facilities need to get their first dose by Sep. 27.  

At one local hospital in upstate New York, dozens of staff members walked away from their jobs after refusing to get vaccinated. The move has seriously disrupted care in the process. 

Lewis County General Hospital, in Lowville, N.Y., announced Friday that it is temporarily pausing maternity services later this month after dozens of staff quit rather than get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The hospital will be "unable to safely staff" its maternity department and newborn nursery as of Sept. 25,

 according to Lewis County Health System CEO Gerald Cayer

. He added that other departments in the hospital are at risk too if workers don't get vaccinated. 

As of Friday, 30 employees have resigned from Lewis County General Hospital. At least 464 people in the Lewis County Health System are vaccinated — a 73 percent immunization rate among employees. 

Separately, there are 165 workers who aren't vaccinated and haven't shared yet what their plans are, as the state's Sept. 27 deadline for a first shot approaches. 

"We have a challenge to work through with the vaccination mandate," Cayer said during 

. "The number of resignations received leaves us no choice but to pause delivering babies."

Lewis County has recorded 2,626 confirmed COVID-19 

 as of Friday. The state lists the county as one at a "very high" risk level. 

States mandate health care workers get shots

To cut down on the spread of the coronavirus and its highly contagious variants, some states passed their own vaccine mandates for healthcare workers earlier this year. 

already mandate vaccination or regular testing for health care workers. At least six states require health care workers get vaccinated or face termination. 

Other medical facilities have implemented vaccine or testing mandates independently from any government intervention. Private employers, such as Delta and United Airlines, have taken similar steps, side-stepping 

 to ban local mandates requiring people to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Issues over vaccine, testing or mask mandates 

 in U.S. schools as well. Last month, Chicago Public Schools 

 10 percent of their school bus drivers quit because they're unwilling to get mandated vaccines. 

Other health-care facilities have been acutely affected by the vaccine mandate standoff between bosses and their workers. 

The pandemic has already exacerbated staffing shortages at medical facilities in the U.S. Hospitals around the country have also offered 

 to get its workers to stick around during the pandemic, such as offering sign-on bonuses.

Some healthcare administrators in Texas fear mandating vaccines for workers will push desperately needed employees to quit, 

In April, Houston Methodist hospital system was among the first in the nation to implement a vaccine mandate. The hospital lost 

Health

COVID-19

Jaclyn Diaz

Author

Lewis County General Hospital in upstate New York is temporarily pausing maternity services later this month after dozens of staff quit because they refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

A NY hospital will stop delivering babies as workers quit over a vaccine mandate

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