State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara issued the two-week suspension after three separate lawsuits were filed against state health commissioner Dr. Richard Daines seeking to void the mandate he issued in August. That mandate, the first and only one of its kind in the nation, requires approx. 65,000 health care workers get both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines by Nov. 30 or risk losing their jobs.

The Public Employees Federation, three Albany Medical Center nurses and three members of New York State United Teachers union who work at Stony Brook Medical Center filed the three suits. PEF spokesperson Darcy Wells says the Union feels flu shots should be a matter of personal choice, with no attachments to terms and conditions of employment.

There appears to be a strong resistance to the vaccine from the general public. A new Harvard University poll shows that only four in 10 adults intend to take the vaccine themselves, and only six in 10 plan to give it to their children. Until this year, seasonal flu shots were strongly urged, but voluntary.

The lawsuit names Dr. Daines, the State Health Department, State Hospital Review and Planning Council, Governor David Paterson and the State of New York as defendants. Declining to go on tape, a health department spokesperson said she had "no comment on pending legislation." Another health department spokesperson told Newsday the temporary restraining order shouldn't derail vaccinations because the issue will be resolved before the Nov. 30 deadline.