As NY's COVID-19 cases surge, Cuomo calls for vaccine plan that protects undocumented

ALBANY, N.Y. — A day after putting New York hospitals on notice, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state must brace for a year-end surge in coronavirus cases and voiced concerns about federal vaccination plans.

The state reported Tuesday that 4.96% of 146,675 tests results recorded the previous day came back positive, a figure not seen since May, and another 66 New Yorkers died from the virus.

“The numbers are going up,” the governor said during a call with reporters. “We expected the numbers to go up. My projection is that the numbers will continue to go up through the holiday season.”

Another 242 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, bringing the overall hospitalization total to 3,774 with 718 people in intensive care units, Cuomo said.

New York’s focused microcluster strategy was tweaked this week to rely on hospital capacity and other factors to determine which areas of the city and state will be subject to increased restrictions as infections creep upward.

Medical centers across the region are tasked with crafting a plan to transfer patients and clear hospital beds to help overworked staff and avoid disaster. An emergency field hospital has already reopened on Staten Island where infections have surged in recent weeks.

Cuomo said a vaccine offers a ray of hope as the pandemic wears on, he again expressed concerns about what he labeled as “gross omissions that are going to effectively impede effective vaccination” should the Trump administration take the lead on the effort before Joe Biden is sworn in as president in January.

“The vaccination process has to work to end the pandemic,” the governor said, adding that there are several issues and obstacles in the way of successful distribution.

He said states lack funding for distribution and wants to see an outreach effort from the federal government in minority and poor communities.

Cuomo, who has expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s vaccine approval and plan, is also again raising concerns about the prospect of information-sharing with the federal government potentially discouraging undocumented immigrants from getting the shots.

The governor said he’s concerned about a federal request for identifiers, such as Social Security numbers, that are used for citizenship as part of any vaccine distribution plan.

Cuomo, along with dozens of immigrant advocacy groups, fired off a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, President-elect Biden and congressional leaders calling on them to step up funding, expand outreach and to safeguard immigrants.

“It is in everyone’s interest for all of us to work together to encourage our respective constituents to participate in the vaccination program,” the letter states. “Outreach efforts to Black, Brown, Asian and low-income communities is essential. Further, it is certainly not in the national interest for individuals to have valid concerns preventing such participation, and the undocumented community has specific and valid cause for concern in providing unnecessary, irrelevant, and sensitive information to federal agencies.”

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