New York has not administered about two-thirds of its coronavirus vaccines, sparking outcry from residents.
“Once again, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio prove their ineptitude as New York’s leaders — all talk and little action,” the New York Post’s editorial board wrote of vaccine distribution.
“A Bloomberg News analysis finds that New York state has administered only 32 percent of the vaccines provided. In New York City, it’s even worse: 25.4 percent,” it added.
As of last week, over 600,000 vaccines have been sent to the state, but only 203,000 vaccines were administered.
“We are far, far behind where we need to be,” Councilman Mark Levine, chairman of the New York City Health Committee, told the New York Post.
De Blasio vowed just before the holiday weekend that 1 million vaccines will be administered this month.
“We’re going to vaccinate 1 million New Yorkers in January,” de Blasio told CNN. “More and more people want to get the vaccine, and we’re going to do that,” he added.
The rate in New York, however, also reflects the national average, the New York Post’s editorial board said.
“But that doesn’t absolve New York officials, particularly when Cuomo has held himself up as the coronavirus king par excellence, even writing a book praising his own leadership,” the board wrote.
The stall on distribution is being blamed on lack of planning, with New York directing pharmacies and hospitals to store the second dose of the vaccine for anyone who received the first dose, which means healthcare establishments have to hold onto half the vaccines they receive.
“Why aren’t there mass vaccination events? Where’s the urgency?” the editorial board added. “Cuomo and de Blasio blather on about equality, and now New Yorkers are learning what that means: In order to ensure the vaccine is distributed in a fair and equitable manner, no one should get it.”
