Governor Andrew Cuomo’s vaccination plan has turned into an utter train wreck, it’s so bad even NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio is fed up.
Under Phase 1A of Cuomo’s plan the COVID-19 vaccine can only be given to health care workers, residents, and staff at nursing homes, coroners, and certain funeral workers.
The guidelines are so strict it has caused the vaccine to sit in freezers. In New York City only 167,949 of 489,325 doses have been given, leaving 66% to spoil. To date, about 50% of vaccines in the state have been administered.
In Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in Manhattan, they received a small supply of Moderna’s VOVID-19 vaccine for employees. Six hundred doses have sat in the freezer, Dr. Peter teacher, chief medical officer at the health center wants to give the vaccine to high-risk patients but is afraid of being fined.
He is right to be afraid Cuomo recently fined a hospital that gave leftover doses to first responders.
New York City Mayor’s Press Secretary Bill Neidhardt hammered Cuomo complaining the clinics were “unable to give out doses because of the strict rules — or even had to throw some out.”
“This is so enraging,” Neidhardt wrote. “Utterly speechless.”
De Blasio has had enough and wrote that he’s going to start to immunize seniors, first responders, and anyone in the states 1B category.
“New York City has heard enough,” a disgruntled de Blasio wrote on Twitter. “We will begin administering shots to City Workers and the elderly in 1B starting on Monday.”
After De Blasio announced that he is going to take over the vaccinations in the city Cuomo finally expanded the list of people that can get the vaccine if they wish to.
“On Monday you can start to schedule appointments. Pharmacies will start coming online, some Monday, more on Wednesday … we are going to have thousands of providers coming online next week,” Cuomo said.
Just like his nursing home policy Cuomo is once again fumbling the football.
