Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the heads of the NAACP and National Urban League on Sunday called for a more diversified method of distributing a coronavirus vaccine, once one becomes available, to make sure people of color and low-income people are not shortchanged.
John Hickey
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday criticized the White House’s plan for distributing the Covid-19 vaccine, saying it would fail to adequately serve the people who have been hit hardest by the virus – those who are Black, Latino and low-income.
Those communities were hardest hit by Covid infections as well as deaths, he said, yet received the fewest tests.
“That’s because they’re health care deserts,” Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters. “There were health care disparities to begin with. People had underlying issues, underlying illnesses.”
Support Local Journalism
Your subscription makes our reporting possible.
Now, the federal government plans to use the military to distribute the vaccine once it’s made available and to provide it throughout the existing health care system, the governor said, but communities of color have less access to that system.
He called for the vaccine to also be distributed to community centers, churches, schools and community organizations to make it more accessible more quickly to people of color and lower-income people.
“It took us eight months to do 120 million Covid tests, which is just a nasal swab,” Cuomo said. “How long does it take us to do 330 million vaccinations with the same infrastructure?”
State Attorney General Letitia James, NAACP President Derrick Johnson and National Urban League President Marc Morial, who were all on the phone call, echoed Cuomo’s plea and called on the federal government to provide funding to the states to develop a better system to distribute the vaccine.
