In two separate rulings yesterday, courts temporarily rejected New York state's attempts to require various kinds of workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

First, federal Judge David Hurd of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of New York temporarily blocked an August 26 order requiring all hospital and nursing home workers in the state to be vaccinated. The state mandate does not contain a religious exemption, and was challenged by 17 people who say getting the vaccine violates their religious beliefs.

The state's department of health is temporarily barred "from enforcing, threatening to enforce, attempting to enforce, or otherwise requiring compliance with the vaccine mandate," Hurd wrote in his Tuesday ruling. Furthermore, it cannot take "any action, disciplinary or otherwise, against the licensure, certification, residency, admitting privileges or other professional status or qualification of any plaintiffs on account of their seeking or having obtained a religious exemption from mandatory COVID-19 vaccination."

Later on Tuesday, state court judge Laurence L. Love temporarily blocked New York City's requirement that teachers and other education staff be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The mandate—set to go into effect on September 27—was challenged by teachers unions.

But "a City Hall spokesperson downplayed the significance of the decision, saying that based on the ruling there 'is no delay' in the mandate's implementation," reports the New York Post:

[quote] "New York City's education worker vaccine mandate, which has been embraced by the White House, goes into effect on September 27. The court's action today expires on September 22," the spokesperson said.

Last week, a city arbitrator ruled that DOE workers may apply for medical or religious exemptions.