ALBANY, NY – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made giving the COVID-19 vaccine to residents such a bureaucratic process that thousands of doses of the vaccine spoiled and had to be thrown away across the state.
According to the New York Times, healthcare providers were afraid to give vaccines to the wrong people for fear of punishment by the Governor’s office.
“They had been forced to throw out precious vaccine doses because of difficulties finding patients who matched precisely with the state’s strict vaccination guidelines — and the steep penalties they would face had they made a mistake,” the New York Times reported.
Now, after many doses of the vaccine that could have been used to protect the residents of New York have been simply thrown away, Cuomo loosened the restrictions.
“This guidance lays out and clarifies what we have been discussing with hospitals for weeks regarding how to maximize their doses to make sure that no vaccines are wasted,” said the spokesman, Gary C. Holmes to the New York Times. “We want no confusion and want to make sure that everyone understands the procedures.”