What Went Wrong with Moderna Vaccine Distribution for New Rochelle Teachers, Staff?

Written By: Robert Cox

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — After earlier in the day announcing that teachers and staff at all 10 public schools were eligible to begin receiving the Moderna Vaccine for COVID-19 starting today, New Rochelle Interim Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero announced late last night that the vaccination program had been cancelled.

Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital “suddenly withdrew” their invitation, said Marrero in an email to the School community shortly after 9 pm last night.

“No vaccinations will be provided to District staff members through this initiative until further notice.”

Some City Hall school staff did receive their first dose on Thursday.

The bulk of City of New Rochelle employees including police, firefighters and other staff including City Council members had received the vaccine by end of day Thursday.

READ: New Rochelle School & City Workers Begin COVID-19 Vaccinations at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital

The District plan required each school to shift to remote, asynchronous learning for one day, according to the chart above, to enable staff members to receive the first of the vaccination’s two shots. The plan also entailed hiring buses. Staff members were told to report to work, where they would be transported to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital to receive a screening and the vaccination.

Talk of the Sound has contacted both Montefiore Hospital and the City School District of New Rochelle seeking an explanation for why the vaccination program was announced then terminated on such short notice.

Many believe the community is owed much more by way of explanation.

“While FUSE is disappointed that vaccinations will not occur as scheduled, we are not surprised,” said the FUSE school union in a prepared statement . “At best, the district’s plan was rushed and ill-conceived and left many questions unanswered.”

“Many staff members would have been unable to receive (the vaccine) anyway due to quarantines. Albert Leonard had to close due to quarantines and dozens of classes in other buildings have been forced to go remote.”

“The City School District of New Rochelle must use the time afforded by this temporary setback to plan accordingly and communicate clearly. Plans matter and must be responsive and flexible to ever-changing circumstances.”

Several media outlets contacted Governor’s Cuomo’s office yesterday afternoon to ask why police officers, firefighters and teachers were getting vaccinated in New Rochelle while in New York City a huge fight has been raging between Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill DiBlasio over this very issue. Not long after Montefiore “withdrew” their offer to the City School District of New Rochelle.

READ: Mayor Bill De Blasio, Gov. Andrew Cuomo At Odds Over COVID Vaccine Distribution

  • The current list (and it can change abruptly) is on Governor Cuomo’s web page here.
  • As of this moment (1/8/20 at 9:35 am) the list is as follows:
  • Under the Department of Health’s most recent eligibility guidance, beginning January 4, all Outpatient/Ambulatory front-line, high-risk health care workers of any age who provide direct in-person patient care, or other staff in a position in which they have direct contact with patients will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine. This includes, but is not limited to:

    • Individuals who work in private medical practices 

    • Hospital-affiliated medical practices; public health clinics 

    • Specialty medical practices of all types 

    • Dental practices of all types 

    • Dialysis workers

    • Diagnostic and treatment centers 

    • Occupational therapists

    • Physical therapists

    • Speech therapists

    • Phlebotomists

    • Behavioral health workers

    • Student health workers

    Additionally, all front-line, high-risk public health workers who have direct contact with patients, including individuals who administer COVID-19 tests, handle COVID-19 lab specimens, and those directly engaged in COVID-19 vaccinations are also eligible to receive the vaccine. 

  • The same page threatens punishments for not distributing vaccine allotments:
  • • Any provider must use the vaccine inventory currently in hand by the end of 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.

    New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker issued a letter to vaccine providers in recent days outlining the expectations which have been placed on providers to ensure an expedited administration of the vaccine.

    The key paragraph may be at the end of the letter:

    The first group to be vaccinated at any facility or vaccination site will be health care personnel at high risk for transmitting or becoming infected with COVID-19, including direct care, administrative staff, and food and housekeeping services staff who have contact with patients or infectious materials. Facilities that have vaccinated all frontline direct care and patient-facing health care workers and still have vaccine available should proceed to vaccinating the next groups of health care and patient-facing workers, whose job responsibilities require in- person presence, including those health care workers that will be expected to participate in the hospital or health system’s surge response for their facility, continuing to prioritize by risk.

    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.

  • It may be that Montefiore was up against the one week deadline, facing a $100,000 fine and was unable or unwilling or simply erred in not notifying the New York State Department of Health they had excess vaccine.
  • We too have contacted the Governor’s office to get their side of the story.
  • One big unanswered question is whether those City and School employees who did receive a first dose this week will be allowed to come back to receive their second dose in three weeks.

  • For those wishing to check their eligibility to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine visit:
  • https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/

    Talk of the Sound will continue to ask questions and update this story in determining whether the vaccine fiasco was a miscommunication or screw up or where the cause was some legal reason or supply issue?

    UPDATE 1/8/21 11:33 PM

    Statement from the City of the New Rochelle:

    We were informed by Montefiore New Rochelle that, at the State’s direction, vaccines would be made available to City and School District employees, and we began a rollout on that basis. We subsequently learned that Montefiore misinterpreted State guidelines and, therefore, vaccination of City and School District employees has been suspended, except for Fire Fighters who are eligible for the vaccine as EMTs.  New Rochelle will continue to adhere rigorously to State directives and standards.

    Q & A with City of New Rochelle spokesperson:

    Will those who got doses this week get second does in 3 weeks.

    Nothing confirmed at this time.

    When did the first City employee get the first dose at Montefiore?

    Wednesday night.

    Did all city employees who wanted one get one and which departments (NRFD, NRPD, DPW, City Hall staff).

    No.

    Do you have a total number of City employees who were vaccinated?

    Do not have a number at this time.

    Was the City program completed before the plug was pulled?

    No.

    Was the City formally notified by Montefiore that the offer was withdrawn?

    Yes.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 11:53 PM

    Talk of the Sound has obtained a copy of an email sent by City Manager Charles B. Strome at 8:10 am this morning notifying employees that the vaccination program was rolled out in error due to miscommunication between Montefiore and the New York State Department of Health.

    The email says as of Wednesday at 5:00 pm the State ordered Montefiore to stop distributing the vaccine to City workers.

    Strome addressed the issue of the second dose for those City employees who received the first dose.

    I will confirm later today but I have been advised that those who did receive the first dose of the vaccine yesterday will still be eligible for the second shot at the appointment time you were given by the hospital. Unless you receive an another email from me on this, you may assume you can keep your scheduled appointment and get the second dose.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 11:56 AM

    Montefiore New Rochelle Spokesperson Tracy Gurrisi who did tell reporters on background that there a “misunderstanding in the communication” — and an email from her was attributed to her by the Journal News, is now declining to comment further. There has been no response to inquiries from Talk of the Sound starting last night until now.

    “It is best to contact NYSDOH regarding this one,” replied Gurrisi to our emails, phone calls and tweets.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 12:41 PM

    New York State Department of Health is coming down hard on Montefiore and says all its vaccine doses will be transferred to the Westchester Department of Health.

    DOH spokesperson Jonah Bruno issued the following statement:

    DOH is investigating this egregious violation of the state’s clearly defined guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine. 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.

    The facility is facing potential sanctions and penalties for these violations and its vaccine supply will be reallocated to the County Health Department

    What that means for those scheduled to receive second doses at Montefiore New Rochelle in 3 weeks remains unclear.

    What is clear is that Governor Cuomo is punishing New Rochelle residents including first responders and teachers for whatever went on at Montefiore New Rochelle.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 1:07 PM

    New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson has provided a timeline on the communication between Montefiore New Rochelle, the City of New Rochelle and the City School District of New Rochelle.

    We requested that information after reading an account in LoHud we found confusing and made it sound like LoHud and Montefiore were blaming Bramson for the confusion — or at least putting him at the nexus of wires that became crossed — none of which made sense for a multitude of reasons.

    Our take away from the LoHud reporting was that New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson says Montefiore New Rochelle told him they had gotten permission from New York State Department of Health to begin immediate distribution of the vaccine to all 2,400 City and School District employees in New Rochelle.

    That we have previously confirmed.

    Lohud adds “New Rochelle school district officials had been surprised to learn from Bramson on Wednesday that vaccinations could begin.”

    LoHud quotes Montefiore spokesperson Tracy Gurrisi saying, “There was a misunderstanding in the communication” and that no SCHOOL DISTRICT employees (emphasis mine) would be vaccinated Friday or next week.”

    Taken together this makes it sound like Bramson had some communication with Montefiore on Wednesday and then told the City Manager and Superintendent that Montefiore would begin vaccinations for all City and School District employees and Dr. Marrero and Chuck Strome acted upon that.

    As this is not typically how the City operates nor how the City or School District coordinate. The City Manager and Schools Superintendent are peers while the Mayor and School Board President are peers. Concerning a call from Montefiore, the City Manager would instruct City employees what to do and the City Manager would contact the Schools Superintendent. It would not be unusual for an outside entity or government entity to contact the Mayor for various reasons, among them a lack of awareness that the City of New Rochelle has a City-Manager form of government and, except in the case of a declared emergence, all executive authority rests with the City Manager.

    The part that is most confused is that Montefiore DID vaccinate people on Thursday so if it Mayor Bramson who was “confused” why was Montefiore New Rochelle accepting patients that the City and School District sent them?

    Bramson addressed all of this is an email sent to Talk of the Sound at 11:56 pm.

    The chain of communication is pretty straightforward:

    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.

    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.

    “Although I am satisfied that all parties have been operating in good faith, it’s clear that Montefiore misinterpreted the state guidelines, that is now being resolved,” said Bramson.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 1:07 PM

    Statement from the City School District of New Rochelle

    The City School District of New Rochelle was offered COVID-19 vaccinations from Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. Based on the hospital’s notification and directions, and the wonderful opportunity to help safeguard our staff and students during the pandemic, the District immediately formulated and announced a comprehensive plan to efficiently arrange and schedule vaccinations for District staff at the hospital.

    Some of our District staff members who work at New Rochelle City Hall received vaccinations on Thursday, January 7, 2021. The District was set to send large groups of staff members from our schools to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital today, Friday, January 8, and over the coming week. However, on Thursday afternoon, we abruptly learned from Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital that the vaccination initiative would not be moving forward until further notice. We remain extremely disappointed by this unexpected turn of events. Throughout this process, the District followed guidance from Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. We remain hopeful that our dedicated staff members can receive vaccinations as soon as possible.

    The City School District of New Rochelle deeply appreciates the patience of all involved, and we await guidance from the appropriate government and medical entities regarding potential next steps.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 3:40 PM

    Governor Cuomo held a press conference at 2:00 pm to update New Yorkers on the state’s COVID-19 response. He did not address the situation with Montefiore New Rochelle. He did give a detailed explanation of distribution of Tier 1A and Tier 1B.

    Tier 1B includes people 75+, police, firefighters and teachers. The state will dramatically expand distribution points by including pharmacies, doctor’s office, mass distribution points like Javits Center and others. Eligible Tier 1B people will be able to register for a first dose of the vaccine on Monday but based on current supply he expects it will take 14 weeks, until April 16th to complete Tier 1B.

    We have resubmitted our questions to the New York State Department of Health. The same questions were put to the Westchester County Department of Health.

    1. Will those City and School employees who received doses Wed/Thurs get the second dose in 3 weeks? from WCDOH? Elsewhere? Would location be WCDOH offices at 145 Huguenot?

    2. Related, what about everyone else in NR and area that might have gone to Montefiore NR for vaccine, will a WCDOH location in NR replace Montefiore NR? Or will they have to travel elsewhere?

    UPDATE 1/8/21 4:45 PM

    The Westchester County Department of Health has now taken possession of the remaining 330 does of COVID-19 vaccine from Montefiore New Rochelle, sources say.

    The 330 doses are in addition to 500 does on hand at the Westchester County Department of Health which is located at 145 Huguenot Street in downtown New Rochelle.

    The WCDOH will distribute the 830 doses to Tier 1A people who make appointments through New York State.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 6:24 PM

    New Rochelle School Medical Director Not Consulted on Board of Ed’s Illegal Vaccine Plan

    City School District of New Rochelle Medical Director Brooke Balchan was kept out of the loop in setting up the Montefiore New Rochelle vaccination plan, sources say.

    FUSE and A&S Leadership learned of this and the information was shared with the Westchester County Department of Health, New York State Department of Health and Montefiore New Rochelle.

    Balchan, sources say, first learned of the vaccination plan when Interim Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero sent a broadcast email to all District employees at 12:04 pm on Thursday.

    Balchan questioned whether non-medical District staff legitimately qualified for the vaccine prioritization as these job classifications had not yet been approved by Governor Cuomo.

    Hours later the New York State Department of Health stepped in and shut down the program.

    UPDATE 1/8/21 7:18 PM

    Most of New Rochelle’s elected officials took advantage of an illegal program to distribute COVID-19 out of Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. First in line was New Rochelle’s Mayor who orchestrated the operation with, sources say, Montefiore New Rochelle Chief Dr. Anthony Alfano.

    READ: New Rochelle Mayor, Other Elected Officials Jumped the Line to be Among First to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

    UPDATE 1/8/21 10:35 PM

    Belated statement from Montefiore:

    Montefiore regrets any confusion about its lack of compliance with the state Department of Health’s vaccine roll-out guidelines. We are fully committed to supporting the fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine and will work closely with the state to ensure we remain in compliance moving forward.

    Random, unconfirmed news tips from readers:

    “Westchester medical center vaccinated firefighters and police officers weeks ago and they started vaccinating teachers earlier this week. They had a website to sign up. After the montefiore report went down, they stopped today”

    “St. Johns Hospital in Yonkers was vaccinating Yonkers police”

    “A senior official at a local hospital had his wife driven in from long island to get the covid vaccine.”

    “There are still staff at Montefiore New Rochelle waiting to get their vaccine.”

    UPDATE 1/8/21 11:03 PM

    GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES EXPANDED VACCINATION NETWORK TO ACCELERATE DISTRIBUTION OF COVID-19 VACCINE

    New Network of Vaccination Sites Will Help Supplement Vaccine Administration Efforts in Hospitals for Group 1A and Allow for New Yorkers Eligible Under Group 1B to Begin Receiving the Vaccine

    Health Care Workers Remain Prioritized; Hundreds of Providers to Begin Accepting Reservations Starting Monday

    State Mandating Fairness and Social Equity for Distribution to Group 1B Essential Workers and New Yorkers Over the Age of 75

    Large Unions Asked to Organize Vaccine Administrations for Their Groups to Enable Other Providers to Focus on 75+ Age Group

    ALBANY, NY — Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the expansion of the state’s vaccination distribution network to help accelerate the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to New Yorkers currently eligible under group 1A and begin the vaccination of New Yorkers eligible under group 1B. As part of this effort, thousands of new providers and distribution sites are being identified throughout the state. Essential workers and New Yorkers over the age of 75 can begin to make vaccination reservations at administration sites as early as Monday, January 11.

    “Over the past week, we have seen hospitals increase their vaccination rates and I thank them for their efforts, but it’s still not enough, so we’re going to accelerate the distribution,” Governor Cuomo said. “We are establishing a network of thousands of providers statewide to both supplement the work of hospitals to vaccinate health care workers, as well as begin the vaccination of other essential workers and individuals 75 and older. The federal government controls the supply, so as we continue to receive more, New York will not only ensure doses are distributed in the most fair and socially equitable way possible, but that health care workers continue to be prioritized so our hospitals remain safe and staffed.”

    Currently, 2.1 million New Yorkers in group 1A have been eligible to receive the vaccine. This includes health care and hospital workers, seniors living in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, and people with disabilities living in congregate settings. Distribution sites were established directly within hospitals to provide direct access to all those eligible. While the speed of vaccinations has increased throughout the past week, further acceleration is still needed.

    To further accelerate the vaccination rate of priority health care workers, and begin the vaccination of group 1B essential workers and 75-plus year olds, New York has established a network of additional distribution sites that will supplement the work being done in hospitals to prevent any one hospital from becoming overburdened. The largest group, 3.2 million New Yorkers will be eligible to receive the vaccine in 1B, including:

    • 870,000 Education workers

    • 207,000 first responders

    • 100,000 public safety workers

    • 100,000 public transit workers

    • 1.4 million people 75 and older

    This new network will utilize doctors’ offices, Federally-Qualified Health Centers, county health departments, ambulatory centers and pharmacies to get doses in the arms of eligible New Yorkers. More than 1,200 pharmacies have already committed to participating in this network, with nearly 500 scheduled to come on-line next week. Providers across the state will begin accepting vaccination reservations on Monday, January 11 when a centralized state website goes online.

    Additionally, the Department of Health is setting up 20 mass distribution sites throughout the state over the next several weeks, with the first of those sites, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, slated to open its doors on Wednesday, January 13.

    Prioritization

    Under this expanded vaccination network, new providers will prioritize their health care workers and hospitals will continue to prioritize unvaccinated members of 1A: health care workers. Additionally, large union groups, including but not limited to police, firefighters and educators, have been asked to organize plans for vaccinating their members to the extent possible. If viable plans are established, these groups will receive weekly allocations from their local health departments. This will enable other providers in the network to focus on New Yorkers over the age of 75, which represents the largest group in 1B at approximately 1.4 million people.

    Additionally, New York is mandating social equity and fair distribution among the groups included in 1B to ensure fair treatment and proportionate allocations both by group and by region. For example, New Yorkers 75 years of age and older represent approximately 45 percent of the population within group 1B and as such, 45 percent of the 1B vaccine supply will be reserved for them. Similarly, 5.9 percent of New York’s 75+ population reside in the Capital District, so 5.9 percent of the allocation for New Yorkers 75+ will be directed to the Capital District. The state will open distribution sites in underserved areas to ensure social equity.

    Staffing

    To support the increased staffing needs resulting from the establishment of this vaccination network, the Governor has signed an Executive Order to expand the eligible pool of trainees who can administer vaccinations at distribution sites to include:

    • Licensed Practical Nurses

    • Pharmacists

    • Pharmacy Technicians

    • Midwives

    • Dentists

    • Certain Dental Hygienists

    • Podiatrists

    • Emergency Medical Technicians

    • Certain Eligible Students

    Developing…

    RELATED:

    New Rochelle School & City Workers Begin COVID-19 Vaccinations at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital

    What Went Wrong with Moderna Vaccine Distribution for New Rochelle Teachers, Staff?

    New Rochelle School Medical Director Not Consulted on Board of Ed’s Illegal Vaccine Plan

    New Rochelle Mayor, Other Elected Officials Jumped the Line to be Among First to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

    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