A task force with experts from outside, led by mr. Cuomo was convened to lead the vaccination plan, rarely met and was rarely given the opportunity to provide guidance.
For help planning the vaccination campaign, the governor turned to consultants at Deloitte and Boston Consulting Group. The internal lobbyist for New York’s largest hospital system, Northwell Health, was directly involved in the deployment.
For about a month, from mid-October, Northwell lobbyist Dennis Whalen worked from an office in the State Health Department and helped shape the state’s approach. Mr. Whalen previously worked as the 2nd official of the department.
“If you’re asked to help, you help,” said Michael Dowling, the president of Northwell and a longtime ally of Mr. Cuomo, said. “There is nothing shameful about this.”
It was Northwell Hospital nurse Sandra Lindsay who received the first dose of Covid-19 in the country in mid-December, an iconic moment in the pandemic and a victory for the private hospital for public relations.
The governor and his associates said the blast of the vaccine was hampered by the federal government, blaming them for a lack of vaccine. They also said that poor performance by local authorities and public hospitals, especially in New York, was slowing the spread. Lately, Mr. Cuomo regularly uses his press briefings to call hospitals by names that he says do not vaccinate fast enough.
After being eligible for many more people, New York is now rapidly using its weekly vaccination, not doses sent to the state through a federal program for nursing homes, state data shows.