New York officials filed papers this week saying that the state has no constitutional obligation to grant religious exemptions to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare staff, in response to a federal lawsuit. Gov. Kathy Hochul filed the court papers along with state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday. Seventeen nurses were opposing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, in the majority of cases due to their Catholic belief, saying that having fetal tissue among the vaccine ingredients goes against their principles. They filed the suit anonymously, saying that their actions would draw attacks from the media that previously praised them for their work during the pandemic before the vaccines were accessible. The state officials claimed that allowing religious exemptions would seriously “undermine” their efforts to keep the public safe from the virus. “The state’s efforts to promote widespread vaccination, especially of healthcare workers, in is the public interest …