County health officials in New York are furious with Governor Andrew Cuomo.
For years they have had a plan to handle mass vaccinations, they have even trained for it.
After 9/11 the state of New York made a bunch of changes to handle mass casualty emergencies one of them was a biological or chemical attack. In the event of a biological or chemical attack, counties planned to inoculate people at pre-designated “points of distribution.”
Dan McCoy, Albany County Executive said the Cuomo administration “threw us for a loop when it went to Albany Med and it took it out of of the control of the (county) health department.”
Cuomo’s plan is to let the hospitals handle the vaccinations however, McCoy noted in New York hospitals have never done this before.
McCoy said the health system designed by counties has been used before when people were vaccinated for the H1N1 virus.
From the Times Union:
Albany County’s plan indicates that more than 38,000 people could be vaccinated in a 10-day period at the Times Union Center. That site would be equipped with 46 vaccinators, each capable of administering the vaccine to roughly six people per hour.
The vaccination centers — which in many counties are set up at local health departments, schools, firehouses, churches and college campuses — also have detailed plans for staffing, including the number of volunteers who would be involved with processing, screening, medical treatment and security.
The long-established network of county-level response teams have “point-of-distribution sites” throughout their respective municipalities — from drive-through fire departments to high schools and concert venues. The county-level plans have not been highlighted by Cuomo as he has rolled out the state’s plan while also leveling heavy criticism at the White House’s COVID-19 vaccination program
The White House fired back at Cuomo announcing they will send the vaccine to wherever the states tell them to.
Cuomo’s plan has thrown the whole state for a loop, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has a procedure to deal with a “mass-casualty event;” it’s being ignored.
In a drill, a five-person team was able to immunize 942 health care workers in a four-hour period.
For years officials in New York have planned for these types of events and who knows why their plans are being ignored.
