Vaccination Update – Situation Continues to be Fluid

Last week, HCP released a vaccination webinar, a new educational video, and provided other updates regarding how home care workers can get vaccinated.

As HCP has reported, things are moving very quickly with respect to the who, what, when and where of vaccinations. HCP continues to be in contact with all of the 10 vaccination distribution hubs across the state. While the hubs are making every effort to access and distribute vaccine, things continue to be fluid and move very quickly, changing literally minute by minute. We have heard from several hubs that as soon as vaccination appointments are released, they are almost immediately filled!

In communication, as recent as Sunday might, HCP was notified of a release of a block of appointments. No fewer than five minutes later HCP was again contacted to be informed that all of the appointments had been booked.

HCP continues to strongly recommend that providers monitor the state’s eligibility/scheduling website, the NYCDOHMH vaccination website and/or check with their local departments of health to learn of new points of dispensing as they come on-line. These resources are the most up-to-date at the moment.

The Governor has affirmed that eligibility determinations and a list of nearby providers where appointments can be scheduled through New York's new “Am I Eligible" app. New Yorkers can begin calling the New York State Vaccination Hotline at 4:00 pm on Monday, January 11, 2021: 1-833-NYS-4VAX (1-833-697-4829).

Governor Cuomo Announces Additional Individuals Can Begin Scheduling COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments

Governor Cuomo announced priority group 1b can now begin scheduling appointments with individual providers, including pharmacies, local health departments, and hospitals, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Those now eligible to receive the vaccine include individuals 75 and older, first responders, public safety officers, teachers and other school staff; in-person college instructors, childcare workers, public-facing grocery store workers, transit workers and individuals living and working in homeless shelters. Eligibility determinations and a list of nearby providers where appointments can be scheduled can all be done through New York's new “Am I Eligible" app. New Yorkers can begin calling the New York State Vaccination Hotline (1-833-NYS-4VAX, 1-833-697-4829) at 4:00 pm on Monday, January 11.

Since federal supply severely limits the ability to distribute vaccine, Governor Cuomo encourages all to remain patient and advised not to show up at vaccination sites without an appointment. New York's vast distribution network and large population of more than 4 million eligible individuals in this priority group dwarf the vaccine supply coming from the federal government, which is arriving at a rate of approximately 300,000 doses per week. As such, eligible New Yorkers should be prepared to receive an appointment date as far as 14 weeks in the future.

Under New York's expanded eligibility, the following individuals will now be eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment:

▪ Individuals age 75 and older
▪ First Responders and Support Staff of First Responder Agencies
▪ Public Safety Communications
▪ Corrections
▪ P-12 Schools
▪ Public-Facing Grocery Store Workers
▪ Public Transit
▪ Individuals living in homeless shelters

Until this point, 2.1 million New Yorkers in priority group 1a have been eligible to receive the vaccine. This includes patient-facing health care and other critical hospital workers, seniors living in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, and people with disabilities living in congregate settings. Distribution sites were established directly within hospitals, Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), and urgent care clinics to provide direct access to all those eligible. To further accelerate the vaccination rate of priority health care workers, and begin the vaccination of group 1b essential workers and 75-plus year olds, New York has established a network of distribution sites that will supplement the work being done in hospitals to prevent any one hospital from becoming overburdened.

This new network will utilize doctors' offices, FQHCs, county health departments, ambulatory centers and pharmacies to get doses in the arms of eligible New Yorkers. More than 1,200 pharmacies have already committed to participating in this network, with nearly 500 scheduled to come on-line this week.

Providers across the state will begin accepting vaccination reservations on Monday, January 11 when a centralized state website goes online that lists nearby providers where appointments can be scheduled. Pharmacies will be provided vaccines for New Yorkers aged 75 and older, while hospitals will continue vaccinating 1a healthcare workers, and local health departments and union-organized efforts will serve essential workers in 1b.

Additionally, the Department of Health (DOH/the Department) is setting up 20 mass distribution sites throughout the state over the next several weeks to support all categories of eligibility. Opening on Wednesday:

▪ Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (NYC)
▪ Westchester County Convention Center (Westchester County - in partnership with the county health department and Westchester Medical Center)
▪ State Fairgrounds (Onondaga County - in partnership with county health department)

Additional sites will be launched in the days to come.

Under this expanded vaccination network, hospitals will continue to prioritize unvaccinated members of 1a: health care workers. Additionally, large union groups, including but not limited to police, firefighters and educators, have been asked to organize plans for vaccinating their members to the extent possible, incorporating coordination and partnership with local health departments. This will enable other providers in the network to focus on New Yorkers over the age of 75, which represents the largest group in 1b at approximately 1.4 million people.

Governor Cuomo Outlines 2021 Agenda

Today, Governor Cuomo delivered his 2021 State of the State address. Proposals focused on reopening the state, becoming a leader in the growing green energy economy, and rebuilding and strengthening New York's infrastructure will be announced in the coming days.

2021 REIMAGINE | REBUILD | RENEW HIGHLIGHTS

Passing the Medical Supplies Act: The United States was ill-prepared for a global pandemic when it came to our shores in 2020. At the outset of the COVID-19 crisis, New York State, along with the rest of the country, faced a severe shortage of basic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), leaving our frontline health care professionals vulnerable to contracting the disease that we so desperately needed them to fight. To ensure that hospitals had the supplies needed to protect their patients and workers, New York was forced to compete with other countries — and even states — to secure critical products from overseas.

To promote domestic manufacturing of critical medical equipment and to reduce dependency on overseas products, Governor Cuomo is proposing that New York pass the Medical Supplies Act to prioritize buying American-made PPE and medical supplies. As the Buy American Act, made permanent last year, did for American-made structural iron and steel, this new policy will help create and retain local jobs while ensuring the health and dependability of a crucial sector for years to come.

Comprehensive Telehealth Legislation: The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the inequities in our healthcare system and showed that telehealth is a critical tool to expand access and lower costs for low-income communities, especially for behavioral health support. During the crisis, the Governor took executive action to expand access to remote care. These proposals codify and build on those successful reforms.

In partnership with the Reimagine New York Commission, the Governor will enact comprehensive telehealth reform to help New Yorkers take advantage of telehealth tools and address existing roadblocks. These reforms will address key issues like adjusting reimbursement incentives to encourage telehealth, eliminating outdated regulatory prohibitions on the delivery of telehealth, removing outdated location requirements, addressing technical unease among both patients and providers through training programs, and establishing other programs to incentivize innovative uses of telehealth.

Ensuring Social and Racial Justice for the Vaccination Effort: In order to ensure the vaccine is distributed equitably, especially in communities of color, Governor Cuomo created the New York Vaccine Equity Task Force. Chaired by Secretary of State Rossana Rosado, Attorney General Letitia James, National Urban League President & CEO Marc Morial, and Healthfirst President & CEO Pat Wang, the Governor's Equity Task Force will assist in overcoming existing barriers to vaccination and increase access to vaccines in Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, rural, poor, and public housing communities, as well as other health care deserts.

To support the vaccine rollout, the Task Force was directed by the Governor to build trust and acknowledge the pervasive structural inequities that have contributed to existing health and social disparities, address language access issues, ensure protections of privacy and confidentiality, and develop outreach efforts and community engagements that are regionally placed, culturally responsive, and representative of all communities. As vaccine availability increases from the federal government, the State will establish in partnership with private entities and localities, public clinics to reach vulnerable and underserved communities.

New York State Public Health Corps: While working to make New York the first COVID-19-safe state in the nation through widespread vaccination, we must also prepare for future public health crises. To support New York's massive effort to vaccinate nearly 20 million New Yorkers and support other public health emergency responses, Governor Cuomo is proposing the launch of the nation's first public health corps. As part of the effort, up to 1,000 fellows will be recruited to assist with vaccination operations. These fellows will include students in undergraduate and graduate public health programs, nursing schools and medical schools, recent graduates, retired medical professionals, and laypeople who will receive an intensive public health training curriculum developed by Cornell University. Bloomberg Philanthropies, Northwell, and the New York State Department of Health will manage and coordinate the Corps.

After the vaccination program is completed, New York will build on this Public Health Corps model by continuing to recruit and train public health professionals to staff State and county health agencies and this Corps will be available and prepared to serve the state in any future crisis.

Free Citizen Public Health Training: To empower and educate New Yorkers to be prepared for the next public health crises, the State will develop a free citizen public health training program with Cornell, offered online, to educate and certify thousands of New Yorkers to be prepared to volunteer to help their communities the next time there is a health emergency.

Fight for Overdue Federal Support to States Fighting COVID-19: New York was blindsided by the virus in early spring. Despite vast agencies tasked with monitoring health threats, and months of warning, the federal government failed to respond to — or even notice — the growing global pandemic. When they finally took notice, the federal government was solely focused on China such that they allowed 3 million travelers from Europe — where the virus was rapidly spreading —to enter New York City-area airports and others. This was an act of gross negligence by the federal government. New York State led the nation in its response. Left to fend for itself by the federal government, New Yorkers bent the curve and, with a science-based approach, re-opened much of the economy while maintaining some of the lowest infection rates in the nation.

However, even as portions of the economy have bounced back, many sectors have seen significant job losses and remain severely impacted, all contributing to New York's significant fiscal challenges. The State is contending with a $15 billion budget gap created entirely by the pandemic. For too long, New York has been asked to unfairly subsidize the federal government. As the federal government's number one donor, New York already leads the nation in sending more money to Washington than it gets back in return. On top of that, Washington has relentlessly abused this state, providing the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rate in the nation, starving infrastructure funding, and curtailing the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, which raised New Yorkers' taxes and starved New York of $30 billion over three years. After all of this, New York cannot also afford to pay the bill for the federal government's incompetence.

Governor Cuomo will fight to ensure that the federal government takes responsibility and delivers the fair funding New York and other states are owed.

Additional information about Governor Cuomo’s State of the State Address can be accessed on his website.

DOH Webinar Tonight: Updates to the Vaccination Plan