NY Gov. Cuomo to propose law making it a crime to skip the line for COVID vaccine
The governor says that any health provider who tries to fraudulently administer the vaccine to those who are not scheduled to receive it could face prosecution
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is kicking off the new year by proposing a law that would make it a crime to provide coronavirus vaccine shots to those who try to get them before they are scheduled to.
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According to CNBC, “providers can lose their license if they fraudulently administer vaccines, though the law would add criminal penalties if approved by the state legislature.”
“This vaccine can be like gold to some people,” Cuomo said at a press briefing Monday. “If there’s any fraud in the distribution — you’re letting people get ahead of other people, or friends or family, or they’re selling the vaccine — you’ll lose your license, but I do believe it should be criminal, and I’m going to propose a law to that effect.”
Apparently, this decision came in response to a New York state clinic – ParCare Community Health Network – being accused of misrepresenting itself to the state’s department of health to obtain vaccine doses.
New York State health commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement that the clinic may have “diverted [the vaccine] to members of the public — contrary to the state’s plan to administer it first to frontline healthcare workers, as well as nursing home residents and staffers.”
“This is a management issue of the hospitals. They have to move the vaccine, and they have to move the vaccine faster,” Cuomo said. “You have the allocation, we want it in people’s arms as soon as possible. We’ll use other hospitals who can administer it better.”
A new bill, titled A416, was introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Nick Perry and is set to be discussed in the New York State Assembly’s Health Committee on Wednesday. According to his website, it “relates to the removal of cases, contacts and carriers of communicable diseases who are potentially dangerous to the public health.” In other words, it allows for people considered a threat to public health to be forcibly detained.
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Perry, in a statement to Fox News, denied that the bill had any ulterior motive other than to maintain public health. He said the bill “was initially introduced to address public health concerns related to the containment of the Ebola virus after it was discovered that Ebola-infected persons had entered the United States.”
He continues: “I am an American who understands our Constitution is sacred and provides us with the right to agree or disagree, and hold different positions on issues that may relate to our civil and constitutional rights. There is no intent, no plan, or provisions in my bill to take away, or violate any rights, or liberties that all Americans are entitled to under our Constitution, either state or federal.”
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