Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a “disaster emergency” declaration late Monday night prompted by the expected loss of 10,000 health care workers who refused to get the coronavirus vaccine by the deadline set by the governor, the Washington Post reports.

The executive order allows health care workers from other states to more easily get temporary authorization to work in New York so they can fill spots vacated by people who have left their jobs rather than comply with the state’s vaccine mandate.  “I hereby do declare a Statewide disaster emergency for the entire state of New York,” she wrote in the order. The order also said “there is an immediate and critical need to supplement staffing.”

Data show that about 85,000 health care workers in New York, out of a total pool of 450,000, are not yet vaccinated; that’s about 16% of the category.  The data do not differentiate between those refusing to get the vaccine and those who have religious or medical exemptions. 

Erie County Medical Center Corp. has put 5% of its workforce, or 175 employees, on unpaid leave because they did not comply with an employer mandate for vaccinations.  The Buffalo health care system–which has a hospital, a long-term-care facility and outpatient facilities–now has more than 400 positions open.

“It is their choice to not get vaccinated, but the other choice is that they won’t be able to work in health care,” Thomas J. Quatroche, president of the provider, said, adding that the hospital has previously had mandates for other vaccines — for the flu, tetanus and other illnesses — that he said had never been an issue. “I don’t think anybody predicted these numbers would be so high.”