What you should know
- Governor Andrew Cuomo highlighted during his press conference Tuesday that there are three issues related to the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when it is approved.
- One of the problems is related to sharing information about the people who are vaccinated because according to the governor that would harm the undocumented, so he sent a letter to the Government demanding protection for them.
- The second problem is the Federal Government’s help to the states for the distribution process and the third is the distribution in communities of color.
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NEW YORK – Governor Andrew Cuomo highlighted during his press conference Tuesday that there are three issues related to the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when it is approved, and one of them is related to the undocumented community.
This problem, which the governor placed great emphasis on, is about the vaccination process because, as he says, the federal government said that the states must sign a data exchange agreement in which they must share with the federal government who is vaccinate.
The problem with this, the governor pointed out, is that by having to identify people with their social security number, driver’s license or passport, this data could also reach other types of agencies such as ICE and not only the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “The data sharing agreement also says that the US Department of Health and Human Services can share this data with other federal agencies,” it would mean that one of them could be ICE, he said.
“That will deter the undocumented community from approaching the vaccine. That will then prevent good health for the undocumented community, but it will also impede the effectiveness of the entire vaccination program because this only works if everyone is vaccinated, ”said the governor. “It is necessary to gather about 80% of the community for the vaccine to be effective. And if you are not reaching out to the community of color or the undocumented community, you are making it virtually impossible for this vaccine program to work. “
Because of this, the governor sent a letter Tuesday to President-elect Joe Biden to notify him of his concern, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus, and addressed to the Trump administration. In this, he asks the government to “support underserved communities and protect undocumented immigrants in the distribution of vaccines.”
The letter was signed by 54 New York groups working for the rights of undocumented people and the governor.
