Daphne Jane Andre-Rodney, John Ludewig, Orie Monroe, Ryan G. Richards, Raymond Smith, Paul J. Williams, Syed Azad, Michael Thomas Finelli, and Bryan Reeves, Plaintiffs v. Kathy Hochul, in her official capacity as Governor of New York State, New York State, Howard Zucker, in his official capacity as Health Commissioner of New York State, New York State Department of Health, and New York State Public Health and Planning Council,1 Defendants MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER I. INTRODUCTION On September 22, 2021, Plaintiffs, New York State Security Services Assistants and Safety & Security Officers who currently work at hospitals located in New York State, commenced this action against Defendants under 42 U.S.C. §1983 to challenge the mandate that they be “fully vaccinated against COVID-19″ and receive a first dose of the vaccine by September 27, 2021 as violative of their constitutional rights. (Dkt. No. 1); see 10 N.Y.C.R.R. §2.61(c). On September 23, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants “from enforcing, threatening to enforce, attempting to enforce, or otherwise requiring compliance with the vaccine mandate.” (Dkt. No. 4-2, at 3). On September 23, 2021, the Court denied Plaintiffs’ motion for a TRO and set a briefing schedule on the motion for a preliminary injunction. (Dkt. No. 8). On October 29, 2021, the Court held a telephonic hearing on the motion.2 Having considered the parties’ submissions, (Dkt. Nos. 4, 10, 12), and argument at the hearing, the Court denies Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. II. BACKGROUND3 A. COVID-19 Vaccines This case arises out of regulations adopted by the Public Health and Health Planning Council (the “Council”) of the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Department of Health and Human Services declared COVID-19 a public health emergency on February 4, 2020. (Dkt. No. 1, 28). Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (“Janssen”) all applied for and received emergency use authorization (“EUA”) for the COVID-19 vaccines each developed. (Id. 31; see also Dkt. No. 10-1,
49-54). On August 23, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) fully approved the Pfizer vaccine for individuals 16 years of age and older. (Dkt. No. 1, 32; Dkt. No. 10-1, 55). The Moderna and Janssen vaccines retain their EUA but have not yet been fully approved by the FDA; the Pfizer vaccine also remains available under EUA for individuals 12 years of age and older. (Dkt. No. 1, 33; Dkt. No. 10-1, 55). The COVID-19 vaccines have proven effective in protecting individuals against serious disease and death from COVID-19. (Dkt. No. 10-1, 41). Vaccinated individuals are also less likely to transmit COVID-19 to others. (Id. 44). Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the COVID-19 vaccines “are safe for almost all patients.” (See id. 41). However, as Plaintiffs allege, the vaccines “carry a risk of side effects,” which range from temporary reactions to, more rarely, serious side effects that could result in hospitalization or death. (Dkt. No. 1, 34 (citing CDC, “Possible Side Effects After Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine” (last updated Sept. 30, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect/after.html)); see also CDC, “Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination” (last updated October 13, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html. B. The Vaccine Mandate DOH has the authority to “supervise and regulate the sanitary aspects” of “businesses and activities affecting public health.” N.Y. Pub. Health Law §201(1)(m). Pursuant to its authority, DOH published a proposed emergency regulation for review and adoption by the Council. (Dkt. No. 10-1, 6). The Council adopted the emergency regulation on August 26, 2021; the regulation immediately went into effect for ninety days. (Id.; see also Dkt. No. 1-1 (text of the adopted amendment and its Regulatory Impact Statement)); see 10 N.Y.C.R.R. §2.61 (regulation as codified) (the “Vaccine Mandate”). The Vaccine Mandate was adopted against the backdrop of the predominance of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, a variant which is more than twice as transmissible as previous variants. (Dkt. No. 10-1,
