This browser does not support the Video element.
Vaccine distribution scandal?
Attorney General Letitia James is investigating whether a health care provider in Orange County violated state guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will crack down on any shenanigans involving obtaining and administering the vaccines.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a crackdown on potential vaccine fraud as state officials hope to provide an initial vaccine dose to 400,000 people by the end of the week.
Cuomo, a Democrat, has touted New York's vaccination efforts even as the nation as a whole is short of reaching the federal government's goal of injecting 20 million Americans with the first dose by the end of December. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly 2 million people have received an initial vaccine done as of Dec. 26.
Cuomo said 140,000 New Yorkers have received one dose as of Monday, and said he expects another 259,000 people will receive an additional dose this week. Cuomo had tasked pharmacy workers with continuing to vaccinate nursing home residents over Christmas weekend in hopes of vaccinating all nursing home residents and staffers.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Vaccine fraud crackdown
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will aggressively enforce the rules on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines.
By the end of the week, the state will have provided 889,000 doses to regions across the state, according to data provided by Cuomo, who has said distribution is based on population and caseloads. That includes nearly 369,000 doses for New York City, 126,000 for Long Island and 100,000 for Mid-Hudson counties north of New York City.
So far, the state's prioritized nursing home residents and staffers, as well as high-risk hospital workers, federally qualified health center employees, paramedics, coroners, medical examiners and staff and residents of group homes for individuals with disabilities and mental health needs.
And this week, New York will prioritize urgent care center employees, individuals administering COVID-19 vaccines and residents of state-run group homes where individuals receive substance use treatment.
The state will start vaccinating ambulatory care healthcare workers next week, according to Cuomo.
New York police and health officials are investigating one potential case of a health provider fraudulently obtaining vaccine doses from the state. Cuomo said providers who engage in fraud to obtain vaccines could face up to $1 million fine and the loss of all state licenses under an executive order he plans to sign Monday.
"We want to send a clear signal to the providers that if you violate the law on these vaccinations, we will find out and you will be prosecuted," Cuomo said in a Monday teleconference call, in which his office selected reporters to ask questions.
The governor said state police are referring an investigation of health care provider Parcare Community Health Network to the state attorney general's office. The company, which has offices in Brooklyn, Manhattan as well as Monroe in Orange County, has said it's cooperating with the investigation.
Cuomo said the case involving Parcare is the only case he's "at liberty to speak about now."
"You have many people who may want the vaccine, and you'll have fraud in the vaccine process," Cuomo said. "It's almost an inevitable function of human nature and the marketplace."