New York hospital to "pause" delivering babies after resignations over vaccine mandate

A hospital in upstate New York says it will "pause" its maternity services this month after several employees chose to resign rather than get a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine.

Driving the news: At least six unvaccinated maternity staffers at Lewis County General Hospital have quit. In all, 165 staffers, or about 27% of the hospital's workforce, is unvaccinated, CEO Gerald Cayer said at a news briefing.

The Sept. 25 pause will take place two days before the state's deadline for health care workers to get the shot.

What they're saying: "We are unable to safely staff the service after Sept. 24," Cayer told reporters Friday.

• “The number of resignations received leaves us no choice but to pause delivering babies at Lewis County General Hospital."
• "It is my hope that the [New York] Department of Health will work with us in pausing the service rather than closing the maternity department."