New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will expand its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers to include booster shots, becoming the first state to require boosters for healthcare employees while also signaling that a growing number of institutions are increasingly aiming to mandate them. Hochul, a Democrat, said in a Friday news briefing that state healthcare workers are required to get the extra shots. The state will accept only medical—not religious—exemptions, consistent with previous mandates on COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 vaccines. Under the mandate, healthcare workers will have to get boosters within two weeks of their eligibility. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration recommended shortening the time an individual needs to wait before getting a Pfizer or Moderna booster by one month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on the FDA’s Pfizer recommendation earlier this week. “They work [with our] most vulnerable New Yorkers. We need …