Politics

Cuomo Put Vaccine Distribution Into The Hands Of Hospitals, AKA Some Of His Biggest Donors

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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New York was one of the states hit hardest by coronavirus. But what eased some concern was that once the vaccine was out, the state could begin a long recovery. While the state reportedly had a vaccine preparedness plan set and ready to go, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided he was going to do things his own way.

Now, New Yorkers are paying the price.

Cuomo opted out of using plans from the state health department that had been developed over recent years that would’ve laid forth a plan to vaccinate the masses, according to The New York Times (NYT). Instead, Cuomo decided to rely on large hospitals to coordinate vaccinations.

Cuomo even went so far to make it clear during a Friday press conference that he doesn’t trust “experts” when it comes to the vaccine distribution.

“When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I’m saying I don’t really trust the experts,” Cuomo said, referring to experts at all levels of governments. “Because I don’t. Because I don’t.”

Over the course of the past year, 9 health officials have resigned amid a struggle within the state to get a grip on the vaccine rollout, the NYT reported.

In the fall, Cuomo opted out of using a vaccine distribution plan that state health officials had been working on, a person familiar with the matter told the NYT. The plans relied on years of local level preparedness that had been created in the years following 9/11. County health departments began curating vaccine distribution plans following the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, according to the NYT.

Cuomo’s alleged decision to upend the state’s role has led some local leaders to complain that their vaccine distribution plans were undercut by Cuomo, according to the NYT. (RELATED: Cuomo Administration Undercounted COVID-19 Deaths In Nursing Homes By 50%, New York AG Says)

“Wait a minute, why are we not doing this?” Republican Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr., remembered thinking, according to the report.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 27: Jackie, a nurse, prepares a Covid-19 test at a mobile clinic in Brooklyn on January 27, 2021 in New York City. With the overall infection rate across the state on the decline and 72% of healthcare workers now having received the COVID-19 vaccine, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that some restrictions in New York may be lifted in the near future. According to the Governor this will not include indoor dining. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 27: Jackie, a nurse, prepares a Covid-19 test at a mobile clinic in Brooklyn on January 27, 2021 in New York City.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Cuomo announced in December that the state would instead rely on hospitals to coordinate vaccine efforts. Hospitals that administer the coronavirus vaccine to uninsured patients are reimbursed for the administration costs through the CARES Act, according to PWC.

Rather than designate New York City’s 6,000 person Health Department to coordinate regional vaccine efforts, the state opted for the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) to coordinate the efforts, according to the report.

Filings with the state’s Board of Elections show GNYHA Management Corporation, an affiliate of the hospital and nursing home group, donated $1.15 million to the “housekeeping” account of the state’s Democratic Committee in the second half of 2018, according to Empire Center. Cuomo controls the state’s Democratic Committee, according to the report.

David C. Rich, the executive vice president of GNYHA and the man responsible for the group’s legislative advocacy, gave a large donation to Cuomo in 2018 as well, according to City and State.

Cuomo’s received steady support from healthcare unions and leaders throughout his time in office, with the state’s largest union, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, endorsing Cuomo’s reelection back in 2018.

When it came time to plan the vaccination rollout campaign, Cuomo allegedly heeded the advice of the in-house lobbyist for the state’s largest hospital system, Northwell Health, according to the NYT.

But Cuomo’s decision to switch the distribution plan hasn’t seemed to fare well for New Yorkers.

The new plans limited eligibility rules that led to fewer doses being administered in the early weeks, according to the NYT. Cuomo then shifted policy positions and announced that if a hospital wasn’t moving fast enough, then the state would find a different, more competent hospital to handle the distribution, according to NBC New York.

“If a hospital is not competent and can’t do this, we’ll use another hospital, so I need the best hospitals, with the best management, in the best systems as part of this effort because it’s literally a matter of life and death.”

Cuomo also blamed the slow rollout on supply issues and a “dissemination issue,” according to the report.

New York City clinics, despite Cuomo’s insistence that the rollout lag was more so based on supply chain errors, were forced to throw out doses of the vaccine after they were simply unable to find people eligible to receive the vaccine under the state’s strict rules, according to the NYT.

Only 34% of the vaccines that had been distributed in the city were actually used, according to the report which was published Jan. 8 but updated on Jan. 17.

In fact, Cuomo threatened health care providers with $1 million fines if they vaccine people who are ineligible. Cuomo’s eligibility guidelines originally limited vaccines to health care workers and residents or staff at long-term care facilities.