New York Governor Hochul and Republican opponent Lee Zeldin take different tones on COVID school vaccine mandate

Federal health officials recommended Thursday that immunization schedules for American school children next year include coronavirus vaccinations, an advisory motion that leaves states and localities to decide whether to mandate the shots.

New York has not taken the step of adding the COVID jab to its list of mandated immunizations in grade schools, but does require that students in preschool and grade school receive vaccines against a handful of ailments including Hepatitis B, polio and measles.

Gov. Hochul did not jump to take a position on whether COVID might be added to that list, though the Republican running for governor, Rep. Lee Zeldin, has pledged to oppose such a move.

Throughout the pandemic, Hochul, a Democrat, has taken an aggressive approach to COVID health precautions, and mandated masks for shoppers during the winter omicron surge. Zeldin has charged that Democrats wanted a “forever-pandemic mentality” and has suggested Hochul behaved like an “emperor governor” during the depths of the outbreak.

“As Governor, I will oppose mandating the COVID vaccine for grade school, college, employment or otherwise,” Zeldin said in a statement reacting to the federal recommendation. “Kathy Hochul needs to let the public immediately know exactly where she stands on this issue.”

[ CDC panel recommends adding COVID shots to vaccination schedule, but school mandates in NY would require local action ]

A spokeswoman for Hochul, Justin Mason, said in a statement that the governor takes the Thursday recommendation from advisers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “seriously” and that she urges all eligible New Yorkers to complete their vaccinations.

“While there is a legislative process to add any vaccination to the state’s required immunization for school children, we will closely review any recommendation handed down by the advisory committee,” Mason said in the statement.

California, which is led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has said it plans to implement a COVID vaccine mandate in schools. But the policy has not taken effect, and no other state had such a mandate as of this month, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

The New York City Health Department did not take a position on whether the city might implement its own vaccine mandate.

Patrick Gallahue, a spokesman for the Health Department, said in an email that the city is “reviewing all options.”