ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH OFFERS STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF NYS REQUIREMENT FOR HEALTHCARE WORKER COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

ERIE COUNTY, NY – In response to New York State’s announcement of a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for certain healthcare workers, the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) is providing a statement in support of this action.

“Vaccinating health care workers to protect against COVID-19 will benefit the most medically vulnerable people in our state and county, especially immunocompromised individuals and children who are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccine, and reduce their risk of COVID-19 exposure in hospitals and nursing homes,” Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “Increasing the number of Erie County residents and workers who are vaccinated will contribute to a healthier county, a healthier healthcare workforce, and will give patients, nursing home and adult care facility residents, and their families piece of mind that there is an additional layer of protection in these settings.”

Any healthcare worker, including hospital workers, adult care facility workers, and nursing home workers covered under the announcement, can contact ECDOH at (716) 858-2929 to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. A full schedule of ECDOH vaccine clinics is available at www.erie.gov/vax.

The New York State Department of Health provides hospital worker vaccination rates by region and county at https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/hospital-worker-vaccinations. As of August 11, 2021, 78% of hospital workers in Erie County had completed a COVID-19 vaccine series per hospital reports.  

#

• ECDOH, COVID-19 vaccine info & clinic schedule: http://www.erie.gov/vax
• ECDOH, COVID-19 Information Line: (716) 858-2929 – foreign language interpretation available
• ECDOH, COVID-19 Weekly Data Updates: https://www2.erie.gov/health/index.php?q=covid-19-media-data
• Erie County COVID-19 Wastewater Testing: http://erie.gov/covid19-wastewater

###