World News for Students of English

04-10-2021 07:00

New York hospitals began firing or suspending healthcare workers for defying a state order to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

As a result, staff shortages led some hospitals to stop certain surgeries or curtail services, as around 15% of the state’s healthcare workers are not fully vaccinated. New York’s state health department gave an order last month mandating that all healthcare workers receive at least their first COVID-19 shot by September 27. The vaccination push comes as the US President Joe Biden pressured unvaccinated Americans, and some of them do not want the vaccine because of religious or health reasons.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city hospitals have not yet seen a major impact of the mandate, adding that he worried more about other areas of the state where the vaccination rates were lower. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that she was considering employing National Guard to fill the need for healthcare work.

Difficult words: defy (to openly resist or refuse to obey), curtail (to reduce), mandate (to officially order).

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