ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo put city-run hospitals and medical centers across the state on notice Monday, threatening fines and other measures if they don’t step up distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
The governor specifically called out Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials who oversee public health systems, saying hospitals must administer their current allotments of doses by the end of the week or let the state take over.
“This is a very serious public health issue. ... They have to use the allocation within seven days,” Cuomo said during a press briefing in Albany. “Otherwise, they can be removed from future distribution. We have almost 200 hospitals, if one hospital isn’t performing we can use other hospitals.
“And if you’re not performing this function, it does raise questions about the operating efficiency of the hospital,” he added.
Going forward, facilities will face fines of up to $100,000 if they do not use all their dosages within seven days of receiving a shipment.
Statewide, hospitals so far have only administered approximately 46% of allotted doses.
While some hospital systems, such as New York Presbyterian, have administered nearly all of their doses, others have used as little as 15%, according to the governor.
New York City Health and Hospitals, which operates 11 hospitals across the five boroughs, has only used 31% of the immunizations received so far, according to the state.
“This is a management issue of the hospitals. They have to move the vaccine, and they have to move the vaccine faster,” Cuomo said. “We need them to do better ... we need public officials to step in.”
State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said of 23,000 eligible HHS employees, only 12,000 have been vaccinated despite the city-run hospital network receiving more than 38,000 doses.
“So, those other 11,000 employees need to get vaccinated,” Zucker said. “There needs to be a sense of urgency there.”
De Blasio, meanwhile, said the city is still on track to vaccinate 1 million New Yorkers by the end of the month.
“Getting it right in the first few weeks was the trend-setter. Now it’s time to sprint. This has got to be a seven-day-a-week, 24/7 reality going forward,” he said during his own briefing earlier in the day. “We’re going to do it in the public sector. We need our private sector partners to do the same.”
A frustrated Cuomo said he suffers from “constructive impatience” when it comes to hospitals and local leaders such as the mayor carrying out immunization plans.
He said the state will follow through on threats to fine and rework distribution if hospitals don’t find ways to administer vaccines faster and cut through bureaucracy.
“We want those vaccines in people’s arms ... we need them to administer the vaccines faster,” Cuomo said. “I don’t want the vaccine in a fridge or a freezer, I want it in somebody’s arm.”
“If you’re not performing this function, it does raise questions about the operating efficiency of the hospital,” he added.
The state, which has already seen 300,000 people receive the first of two doses of a vaccine, is also expanding vaccine eligible groups to include all doctors, nurses and healthcare staff who come into contact with the public as of Monday.
New York will also be stepping in to expedite and assist a federal nursing home vaccination program, according to Cuomo.
The governor said, with the state’s assistance, he believes 85% of New York nursing home residents will have received their first doses by the end of the week.
There are 611 elder care facilities currently enrolled in the program, which involves pharmacy staff administering inoculations to residents and workers.
Only 288 sites, roughly 47%, have completed the first round of doses for residents, Cuomo said.
Zucker said the refusal rate in nursing homes currently stands at about 10% of residents and 15% of staff and data regarding those in the healthcare system remains anecdotal.
The governor also said he intends to pitch a law to the Legislature making fraud involving vaccinations a criminal act.
The focus on immunization efforts comes as the state continues to record an uptick in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations not seen since last spring.
The post-holiday surge includes 8,251 people being treated for the virus in hospitals and a statewide positivity rate of 8.34%.
Another 170 New Yorkers died of COVID-19 on Sunday.
Cuomo said despite the rising numbers, the state’s “surge and flex” plan has so far been successful in keeping medical facilities from reaching maximum capacity.
However, the governor warned that shutdowns are still an option if rates continue to increase.
“So if you don’t want that, then don’t bemoan reality, do something about it,” he said.
