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Andrew Cuomo Seeks Direct Vaccine Purchases After Trump Administration's Botched Distribution
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has reached out to COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer in a bid to arrange direct purchases in the wake of botched distribution by the Trump administration.
Only a fraction of Americans who were supposed to be vaccinated under the Trump administration’s own schedule have actually received the injections.
Despite the sluggish process, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week bumped the number of New Yorkers eligible for vaccination from 5 million to 7 million “practically overnight,” Cuomo noted in a letter Monday to Pfizer. At the same time the CDC reduced his state’s supply of vaccines from 300,000 last week to 250,000 this week.
It will take six months to vaccinate the 7 million at that rate of doses, he warned.
“You no doubt understand the challenges New York and other states face,” Cuomo wrote. “The federal administration essentially opened up a floodgate while cutting our supply — leading to confusion, frustration and dashed hopes.”
But Pfizer has responded that it needs permission from the Trump administration before it can sell directly to states, Reuters reported.
We have asked @Pfizer if we can work out a way to purchase vaccine doses directly.
We will look at every opportunity to speed up the vaccination process.#VaccinateNYpic.twitter.com/lfB6SIr6bO— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 18, 2021
Cuomo had hoped that because Pfizer, the first company to develop and distribute a vaccination against COVID-19, didn’t use any subsidies from Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, it would be free to sell directly to New York.
“The company’s decision to opt out of Operation Warp Speed, which the Biden administration plans to overhaul, puts it in a unique situation that could help us save lives right here in New York,” Cuomo wrote to the company.
Later on Monday at a press conference, Cuomo said it’s his job to “pursue every avenue” to help his state.
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