The Times Union reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sept. 15 mandated that employees and children in New York's state-regulated day care centers must wear masks to prevent COVID-19 spread. "We don't have a vaccine available for 5- to 11-year-olds," Hochul said. "We're not hearing that that will occur for a number of months yet." Currently the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention recommends "universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status." The mandate also covers home-based group family and family child care programs, after-school child care programs, and enrolled legally exempt group programs during operational hours. As Hochul announced the latest mandate, she also made clear she was taking this step to end the pandemic. "We all want this to be over. Everybody's tired of it," Hochul said. "We have the power to end this if every single person in the state of New York ... over the age of 12 ... will simply get their vaccine." Read more about this story in the Times Union.