New York State Government Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference on September 8, 2020 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing a law to make selling or administering coronavirus vaccinations to people trying to skip a crime.
“This vaccine may be like gold to some people,” Cuomo said at a news conference Monday. ‘If there is fraud with the distribution – you let people get ahead of other people, or friends or family, or they sell the vaccine – you lose your driver’s license, but i think it should be punishable and i am going to propose a law to that effect. ‘
Cuomo said providers could lose their license if they fraudulently administer vaccines, although the law would add criminal penalties if approved by the state legislature. Until now, health workers and people living in nursing homes and assisted living are eligible for Covid-19 vaccines.
New York has already begun to administer Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, although the rollout has been slower than planned. Cuomo urged state hospitals to deliver the vaccine more quickly. He said hospitals will be fined up to $ 100,000 if they fail to administer their coronavirus vaccine allocations by the end of this week.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state has received more than 774,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, but only 237,000 as of Saturday.
Hospitals that have received Covid-19 vaccines in the past three weeks have used an average of only about 46% of the doses, according to a slide presented by Cuomo at the briefing. While some hospitals have administered nearly all of their doses, others have used only 15%, according to the governor.
“This is a management issue for the hospitals. They need to move the vaccine, and they need to move the vaccine faster,” said Cuomo.
Cuomo said the New York State Department of Health sent a letter to all hospitals on Sunday saying that if they don’t use their vaccination allocations by the end of this week, they will be fined up to $ 100,000 and no further allocations.
In the future, state hospitals will have to use their doses within a week of receipt. Providers seriously falling behind could face further sanctions, he said.
“You have the assignment, we want it into people’s arms ASAP,” said Cuomo. “We will use other hospitals that can administer it better.”
This is a story in progress. Check back later for updates.