NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson was among the first people in line at Montefiore New Rochelle on Thursday morning to get the COVID-19 vaccine in what New York Statement Department of Health spokesperson Jonah Bruno called an “egregious violation of the state’s clearly defined guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Montefiore is facing potential sanctions and penalties for these violations.
NYS DOH is investigating distribution of the vaccine by Montefiore New Rochelle, taken away 330 doses of their remaining allotment and transferred them to the Westchester County Department of Health located in New Rochelle.
“As we’ve said repeatedly, current eligibility for the vaccine is limited to health care and hospital workers, seniors living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and people with disabilities living in congregate settings.”
Bramson was joined by the majority of elected officials on the New Rochelle City Council and the New Rochelle Board of Education. We are not naming names here because the elected officials contacted by Bramson were acting in good faith that the vaccine doses for them had been properly authorized. They were not.
Asked multiple times, Bramson declined to say how specifically he came to know that Montefiore New Rochelle was offering to vaccinate City and School employees.
Sources tell Talk of the Sound Bramson’s contact at Montefiore is Montefiore Vice President, Executive Director of Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital Anthony Alfano.
Alfano was pressured from Governor Andrew Cuomo to increase Montefiore New Rochelle’s distribution percentage which has been among the lowest in the state.
The hospital had already inoculated all of their healthcare workers willing to be vaccinated, sources say and had excess vaccine doses.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker issued a letter to vaccine providers dated January 3rd, outlining the expectations which have been placed on providers to ensure an expedited administration of the vaccine.
If your facility is unable to administer all doses within this week, please contact us at CovidVaccineNotUsed@health.ny.gov. Staff will work with you to arrange the redistribution of excess vaccine.
At a press conference Tuesday Cuomo addressed situations like Montefiore New Rochelle.
“If a hospital has done all their healthcare workers and saying “We’re maxed out, we’ve done everyone.” Fine. Then contact us, and we’ll take that supply back, and we’ll go to the next traunch, we’ll go to essential workers,” said Cuomo.
Cuomo threatened punishments for not distributing vaccine allotments:
• Any provider must use the vaccine inventory currently in hand by the end of the week or face a fine up to $100,000;
• Moving forward, facilities must use all of its vaccine allotment within seven days of receipt;
• Providers who do not comply or are found to be seriously deficient can be subject to more serious sanctions and fines, including being disqualified from future distribution.
Rather than return the allocation, Montefiore New Rochelle, reportedly via a phone call from Alfano, approached Bramson.
Bramson described what happened next to Talk of the Sound.
“Montefiore New Rochelle telephoned me Wednesday around midday to inform the City that the hospital had been advised to open vaccinations to municipal and school district employees,” said Bramson.
“I informed the City Manager, so that our own workforce could be mobilized in an organized fashion. Several conversations ensued between City and Montefiore officials related to the logistics of the vaccination process, and then vaccination of municipal workers began on Wednesday afternoon/evening.”
“Shortly after informing the City Manager, I informed the School District leadership and then subsequently provided the School District with contact information for Montefiore, so that they could coordinate directly.”
City Council Members, each contacted directly by Bramson, and members of the New Rochelle Board of Education were told they were eligible to be vaccinated.
At a press conference Friday afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Police Officers, Firefighters and Teachers — all Tier 1B, along with people 75 and older — are currently ineligible to receive the vaccine but would become eligible to register to get the vaccine starting next week. Cuomo warned that it will take about three weeks to complete vaccinating the remaining 1,000,000 Tier 1A people, mostly frontline health care workers and so Tier 1B may start on or about February 1st and take until mid-April to complete.
Bramson did not respond to questions about any concern about the role he played in jumping the line over healthcare workers, police, firefighters, teachers and the elderly.
Talk of the Sound has also learned that when the New York State Department of Health ordered Montefiore to stop distributing the vaccine in violation of state law at 5 pm on Thursday, Montefiore employees continued to distribute the vaccine for another hour and half, processing all those who were in line at 5:00 pm but had yet to receive their shot. Among them were up to 4 elected officials, possibly more.
Dozens of other people also received shots on Thursday evening including what one source described as a busload of students from Montefiore’s Einstein Medical College in the Bronx.
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New Rochelle School Medical Director Not Consulted on Board of Ed’s Illegal Vaccine Plan
BALONEY: Bramson Now “Regrets” Jumping the Line to Get COVID Vaccine, Says He Was Setting an Example
New Rochelle Schools Superintendent Instructed City Hall Staff to Lie to Get Illicit COVID-19 Vax
New Rochelle City and School District Employees Will Get Second COVID-19 Vax
How can I a teacher who teaches special education get my covid shot
You are eligible now.
You can REGISTER but it can be up to 3 months until you actually get a shot.
Start here:
https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/