DOH Commissioner Declares Influenza Prevalent in NY
On Dec. 5th, Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker declared influenza prevalent in New York State. This means that the "flu mask regulation" is now in effect for those entities to which the rule applies, including hospitals, nursing homes, hospice providers, diagnostic and treatment centers, and home care agencies. Home care staff that work in the assisted living program (ALP) are subject to the requirement as well. The rule requires that specific personnel, as defined in the regulation, who are not vaccinated against influenza for the current influenza season now wear a surgical or procedure mask while in areas where patients or residents are typically present.
"Personnel" means all persons employed or affiliated with a health care or residential facility or agency, whether paid or unpaid, including, but not limited to, employees, members of the medical or nursing staff, contract staff, students, and volunteers, who engage in activities such that if they were infected with influenza, they could potentially expose patients or residents to the disease.
The regulations require that facilities and agencies subject to the rule document the influenza vaccination status of all personnel for the current influenza season in each individual's personnel record or other appropriate record. Documentation of vaccination must include the name and address of the individual who ordered or administered the vaccine and the date of vaccination.
Facilities must develop policies and procedures to implement these requirements and provide a report to DOH on the influenza vaccination status of personnel upon request. The applicable regulatory terms are as follows:
- Upon the request of the Department, a health care or residential facility or agency must report the number and percentage of personnel that have been vaccinated against influenza for the current influenza season.
- All health care and residential facilities and agencies shall develop and implement a policy and procedure to ensure compliance with these provisions. The policy and procedure shall include, but not be limited to, identification of those areas where unvaccinated personnel must wear a mask. This requirement is in effect until the Commissioner declares influenza no longer prevalent.
Please see the declaration for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the regulation and other resources are available here.
For more information, please contact DOH at FluMaskReg@health.ny.gov.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org; Elliott Frost, efrost@leadingageny.org; or Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org. All can be reached at 518-867-8383.