Ontario County Chris DeBolt

Office of County Administrator County Administrator

Municipal Building
Cindy Abraszek
County.Administrator@ontariocountyny.gov 20 Ontario Street
Confidential Secretary to the
www.ontariocountyny.gov Canandaigua, New York 14424
County Administrator
(585) 396-4400

January 12, 2022

The Honorable Kathy Hochul

Governor of New York State
New York State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Hochul,

We write today to ask you, respectfully, to reconsider the newly announced vaccine booster
mandate for healthcare workers. As with the original vaccine mandate for healthcare workers,
each county leader represented here fully supports the value of vaccinations and has worked
tirelessly to administer vaccinations to our citizens.

While we fully support the importance of vaccinations to help protect our communities against
COVID-19, our hospital systems are facing severe staffing shortages coupled with increasing
patient loads caused by the Omicron surge. We have significant concerns that if even a handful
of healthcare workers are dismissed for their refusal to receive the booster within the designated
timeframe, it could exacerbate an already tenuous situation.

The below-signed counties would be in favor of offering a test-out option for fully vaccinated
healthcare workers who do not receive the recommended booster shot within the prescribed
timeframe on a temporary basis until the Omicron wave subsides and the hospital capacity crisis
abates.

We understand the policy goal to increase booster administration and protect critical frontline
healthcare workers from infection by ensuring they have the maximum protection possible
through vaccine and booster administration. Our concerns are the potential negative impacts to
an already beleaguered healthcare workforce at a time when our communities can least afford
it.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Page 2

Respectfully,

The Counties of the Finger Lakes Region:

Orleans
Genesee
Wyoming
Steuben
Livingston
Schuyler
Yates
Seneca
Ontario
Wayne
Monroe County Legislature President Sabrina LaMar