Commissioner Declares Influenza No Longer Prevalent
(April 28, 2026) On April 23rd, the Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner declared that influenza is no longer prevalent in NY. Thus, as of the date of the announcement, the requirement that certain personnel unvaccinated for the current influenza season wear a surgical or procedure mask while in areas where patients or residents may be present is no longer in effect. This requirement will not be in effect until the Commissioner declares influenza prevalent again.
This regulation pertains to hospitals, nursing homes, home care, hospice, diagnostic and treatment centers, and adult day health care (ADHC) providers. The regulation does NOT apply to assisted living and adult care facilities (ACFs), except for home care staff working in the Assisted Living Program (ALP).
Members who are held to this regulation must also submit the Healthcare Personnel (HCP) Influenza Vaccination Report. DOH issued a notice on April 28th noting that the opening of the report has been delayed. Additional information will be sent out when the report opens. The report will be moving from the Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS) to the Survey Management and Response Tool (SMART). DOH recommends that you sign up for a training regarding the SMART platform if you have not already used it for submission of another survey or report.
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the regulation and other resources are available here. For more information, please direct questions to FluMaskReg@health.ny.gov.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828