Health & Fitness

Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate For Medical Workers [POLL]

Seventeen healthcare workers claim their constitutional rights were violated. Should religious exemptions be OK for the COVID-19 vaccines?

A judge in Utica blocked the state's vaccine mandate for medical workers.
A judge in Utica blocked the state's vaccine mandate for medical workers. (Shutterstock)

NEW YORK — The state of New York mandated that all medical workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The order, issued Aug. 28, requires at least a first shot for health care workers at hospitals and nursing homes by Sept. 27.

On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the state from forcing medical workers to get the shot after a group of health care workers sued.

They claimed their constitutional rights were violated because the mandate does not allow religious exemptions.

Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Make your own survey

A judge in Utica issued the order after the Thomas More Society filed a suit on behalf of 17 health workers.

New York has until Wednesday to respond to the Utica lawsuit.

Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The order on Tuesday came after a judge Sunday refused to institute a restraining order based on a lawsuit by two Long Island healthcare workers.

The plaintiffs for the statewide temporary order are practicing doctors, nurses, a nuclear medicine technologist, a cognitive rehabilitation therapist and a physician's liaison. According to The Associated Press they are all Christians and oppose — as a matter of religious conviction — any medical cooperation in abortion.

According to Reuters, the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines do not contain aborted fetal DNA.

All three are known to use fetal cell lines in testing. However, the fetal cell lines are derived from decades-old fetal cells, which have been replicated over the years in laboratory settings.

Since the 1960s, cells derived from abortions have been used to develop vaccines such as chickenpox, hepatitis A, shingles and rubella, Science Magazine reported.

When it comes to religious exemptions, Pope Francis has clearly stated that it is "morally acceptable" to take any of the vaccines, adding that people have the moral responsibility to get vaccinated, the Catholic News Agency reported.

Additionally, the Archdiocese of New York has told its priests to not grant religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines.

Now it's your turn to weigh in on the issue. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here