18 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 18, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Gov. signs bill authorizing pharmacists
to administer additional vaccinations
Addabbo bill to include siblings under paid family leave signed into law
BY KAYLA WONG
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
A bill sponsored by state Senator Joseph
Addabbo allowing family members to
care for a sibling under Paid Family Leave
(PFL) was signed into law this month.
Under the current law, employees cannot
take leave to care for a sibling with a
serious health condition.
“If this past year has taught us anything,
it is that we must recognize the
needs of all individuals, especially during
life’s most challenging periods,” Addabbo
said. “Many siblings share a strong bond,
and for some single individuals, a sibling
may be the only surviving family member
that they have. Adding ‘sibling’ to the
defi nition of ‘family member’ for the purpose
of Paid Family Leave is simply common
sense.”
Th e new bill (S.2928-A) builds upon the
PFL legislation enacted in 2016, which
created one of the most comprehensive
paid family leave programs in the nation.
Currently, New York’s PFL defi nes family
members more broadly than the federal
Family Medical Leave Act and allows
employees to take job-protected, paid
leave to care for family members with
serious health conditions, among other
things.
Th e 2016 proposal initially included
siblings, but they were cut out in the fi nal
enacted deal.
A family member is defi ned as a spouse,
child, parent, domestic partner, parent-inlaw,
grandparent or grandchild — but siblings
were not included in the defi nition.
Th at meant that an employee couldn’t take
paid leave to care for a sibling; it didn’t
matter if the sibling were terminally ill
and without a spouse, child, parent or
someone else to provide care.
Th e only exception to rule excluding
siblings is if the sibling had been acting as
a parent to the employee, or the employee
had been acting as a parent to the sibling.
Th e new legislation expands the defi nition
of “family members” to include
siblings. Th is includes biological
siblings, adopted siblings,
step-siblings and
half-siblings. Th ese family
members can live outside
of New York state,
and even outside of the
country.
“Since the initial
PFL bill
was signed
into law
back in
2016, it has
given single
mothers,
working
parents
and military
personnel
fi nancial
security and job protection dealing with
a serious personal matter, while minimizing
the negative eff ect on small businesses.
Now siblings will be aff orded the
same benefi t,” Addabbo said.
Employee contributions made
through paycheck deductions cover
the entire cost of PFL. Every year,
the employee contribution rate is set
according to the cost of insurance coverage,
and employers use the employee
contributions to pay the insurance
premiums.
Th e law will go into eff ect on Jan.
1, 2023.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday,
Nov. 2, signed a bill that would expand
the type of vaccinations that licensed
pharmacists can administer to patients
who are 18 years or older.
Th e bill (S.4807/A.6476A), which
takes eff ect in 90 days, will allow pharmacists
to administer vaccines recommended
by the Centers for Disease
Control & Prevention (CDC) for hepatitis
A & B, human papillomavirus,
measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.
Th e new law also makes permanent
the ability for licensed pharmacists to
administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Immunizations are the best tool
at our disposal for protecting public
health and we must implement
every sensible measure to make vaccines
widely available,” Hochul said.
“With this new law, we are expanding
the locations where New Yorkers
can go to get vaccines to protect their
own health — and the health of their
communities.”
Under current law, pharmacists in
New York state have been able to
administer immunizations for infl uenza
to adults and children, and for
COVID-19, pneumococcal, acute herpes
zoster, meningococcal, tetanus,
diphtheria, pertussis disease, as well
as medications required for emergency
treatment of anaphylaxis, to adults.
Th e new law expands the list of
immunizations that pharmacists can
provide to adults, and requires pharmacists
to report the immunizations
to the State Department of Health.
Queens lawmakers such as
state Senator Toby Stavisky and
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman,
thanked Hochul for passing the legislation,
ensuring that communities
in New York City will have access to
health care services.
“Studies have shown that people
intuitively trust their local pharmacist,”
Stavisky said. “By allowing
pharmacists to administer all vaccines
approved by the CDC, we will
reduce morbidity and mortality rates
and save lives in our most medically
underserved communities.”
According to Stavisky and
Hyndman, the COVID-19 pandemic
brought to light the many inequities
in the city’s healthcare system,
with low-income and rural communities
struggling to access critical health
care services.
Earlier this year, Queens lawmakers
had advocated for an improved
COVID-19 vaccine distribution system
and local testing centers for residents’
convenience. According to lawmakers,
residents in communities of
color had struggled to schedule vaccine
appointments and were forced
to wait weeks, if not months, before
they were able to schedule a vaccine
appointment.
According to Hyndman, access to
healthcare should be a basic human
right.
“In many of our Black and brown
communities, local pharmacists are
the immediate and most accessible
route to care,” Hyndman said. “Th is
legislation is a step in the right direction
towards addressing this social
justice issue and creating equity for
all. I’d like to acknowledge and thank
Speaker Heastie and all the advocates
who ensured the passage of this leg-
Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters islation.”
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