Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday overturned Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to fine hospitals as a way to speed up the slow, heavily criticized slow vaccination of the vaccine.
“It’s just arrogance,” de Blasio said in an interview with Errol Louis of Cuomo’s allegations that the fines could speed up the process.
Hizzoner defended the city’s health workers and told Cuomo to make the threats.
‘Does he think our health workers are not interested in vaccinating people? How about the trust of the people who were our heroes? Said de Blasio.
“Help them, support them, do not fine them, do not threaten them, respect them and help them.”
Cuomo earlier Monday blamed the state’s sluggish vaccination effort – which left large amounts of the vaccine stock untapped – on local leaders, including De Blasio.
The governor also specifically argued that the Big Apple health and hospital system does not carry their weight.
De Blasio said Monday night that instead of issuing threats, the state should apply new rules to speed up vaccination.
“We need rules that maximize the pace, that help us make the people available, that are a priority and that are ready, willing and competent, that’s common sense,” the mayor said.
“The state can therefore help us here. Stop threatening people. ”
The state Department of Health sent a letter Sunday setting out the use-it-or-lose position, Cuomo said, requiring suppliers to use the fines they have so far allocated or fines by the end of the week. of up to $ 100,000.
If they move forward, they must use all vaccines or impose fines within seven days of receipt – and run the risk of being cut off from future consignments of the vaccine.
Public and private hospitals across the country have used only about 46 percent of the coronavirus vaccines, according to statistics cited by Cuomo Monday.
While the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System led the way, with about 99 percent of its assigned shots, by contrast, the city’s health and hospital network used only 31 percent.
But De Blasio called Cuomo’s analysis of the city – run hospitals ‘blatantly inaccurate’ on Monday night, arguing that the vaccine supply was inflated because much of the stock was just a day old.
“What he said about health and hospitals was simply inaccurate. Much of the delivery to health and hospitals came in the last 24 hours, they were not even able to turn around and use it. It just came there, ‘said the mayor.