Cuomo says N.Y. will handle coronavirus vaccine distribution, tells FDA head to ‘save your soul’
ALBANY — A day after the city unveiled a framework for distributing a coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Cuomo panned the idea and said local governments have “no authority to make rules” regarding inoculations.
The governor, without mentioning Mayor de Blasio by name, chastised the city for stepping out of line during a call with reporters Thursday.
“There is no local role in managing the vaccine process,” Cuomo said. “The state will have a statewide plan.
“The law is the law and I don’t want any confusion about that going forward,” he added.
The comments come after de Blasio rolled out a two-phase plan on Wednesday that would see essential workers and the city’s most vulnerable populations prioritized.
Cuomo, who unveiled a five-stage statewide plan over the weekend, has repeatedly chastised the city for overstepping its role during the pandemic and slammed the mayor over enforcement of COVID-19 safety measures.
“Up until now, with this whole COVID situation, the state made the rules, the locals were supposed to enforce the rules. That was the locals' responsibility," the governor said. “They have no authority to make rules. They can have opinions, that’s all they are is - opinions.
“Localities have no legal jurisdiction. That’s the law,” he added.
Similar divides have arisen over school closings, mask-wearing and shutdowns in recent months.
Asked Wednesday about the long-simmering tensions and how it’s impacted the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, de Blasio said he doesn’t think most New Yorkers are concerned about tensions between City Hall and Albany.
“I’m happy to do whatever will be helpful to New Yorkers,” he said.
Cuomo told WAMC in an interview later Thursday that he is just trying to avoid confusion.
“The only time we get cross-wise is when he does a proposal that he has no authority to do, and then it looks confusing," the governor said. "And I hate confusing because I’m trying to build confidence in government.”
Turning his attention to the Trump administration’s attempts to fast-track a COVID-19 vaccine, Cuomo said that the White House has not replied to a letter sent on behalf of governors asking about the cost and logistics of distribution.
The governor ripped into President Trump, accusing him of playing politics following reports that federal Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is considering firing Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration.
“The White House has been unhappy with the FDA because they’ve been unwilling to accelerate the approval of the vaccine, because they want it done for Election Day,” Cuomo said, urging Hahn to “save your soul” and continue the scientific approval process.
The governor has repeatedly said Americans should be skeptical of any vaccine for the virus put forth under the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, the state’s recent shutdown orders in areas with surging cases appear to be working, with the infection level in “micro-clusters” in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as some upstate counties falling to 3.2%.
That’s a significant drop from the 6.9% infection rate recorded at the beginning of October.
“We’ve seen great progress over the past couple of weeks, so it is working,” Cuomo said.
The state-imposed restrictions that included shuttering schools and nonessential businesses and limiting capacity at houses of worship in hot spots two weeks ago. Some of the orders were met with protests from members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
Some restrictions were eased in parts of Queens on Wednesday although Ozone Park was added to the “yellow” zone as the governor outlined new metrics as positivity rates, sources of new cases and hospitalization dropped.
The statewide infection rate from tests reported Wednesday was 1.2%, which includes oversampling in hot spots, meaning New York has one of the lowest rates in the country.
There are currently 986 people hospitalized with the virus in the state with 209 being treated in intensive care units. Another 15 New Yorkers died from coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 25,694.
