Exclusive: New York Tells Hospitals In Leaked Email That Staff ‘Must’ Come Before the Elderly In COVID-19 Vaccination Drive

The state of New York has warned hospitals that they cannot start giving COVID-19 vaccines to elderly people until they finish vaccinating hospital staff members, according to an email sent to hospitals across the state just before midnight on Feb. 5 from the governor’s vaccination chief, and obtained by TIME this week. The memo from Larry Schwartz, an adviser to Governor Andrew Cuomo who is overseeing the vaccination drive across the state, presents a dilemma for some New York hospitals, which have faced widespread hesitancy among staff members to take the vaccine. Schwartz’s email says that hospitals cannot vaccinate other segments of the population—such as the elderly and those with chronic diseases—until they are done vaccinating their medical workers. “If, and only if, all phase 1a eligibility groups been exhausted hospitals may vaccinate individuals in the 65+ category,” Schwartz wrote in his email on Friday night, referring to the highest priority group for vaccination, known as “Phase 1a,” which includes frontline health care workers. In an interview on Thursday, Schwartz told TIME that the memo was not intended as a threat to punish hospitals for failing to vaccinate their staff. “In no way was the message about penalizing anyone,” he says. If hospital workers later decide to get a vaccine, they will still be able to receive one. They will also continue getting doses to vaccinate other vulnerable population...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news