Cuomo: I Won't Get Vaccine Before Black, Latino, Poor Communities

Southampton NY

03 January, 2021

8:03 PM

Description

LONG ISLAND, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that he will not be getting the coronavirus vaccination until it is available for disenfranchised communities that were hit hard by the pandemic the first time around. Specifically, he said he will not be vaccinated until Black, Latino and poor communities have had access to the vaccination. "I am committed to social and racial justice in the distribution of this vaccine," Cuomo said. "It will be available as fairly and as quickly as we can make it happen. Race or income will not determine who lives and who dies. And I mean it. And that's why I say to you today that I want to take the vaccine. I move around a lot and come into contact with many people and I would feel much safer if I took the vaccine, but I will not take the vaccine until the vaccine is available for my group in Black, Hispanic, and poor communities around the state." Speaking through pre-recorded comments, Cuomo told members of the Abysinnian Baptist Church in New York City that the state was "preparing a massive vaccination program. The vaccine works, but it only works if we take it." In order for the plan to be effective, 70 to 90 percent of New Yorkers must receive the vaccination. "That is an enormous number. Think of it — 90 percent of New Yorkers don't agree to do anything, let alone take a vaccine. This is not only an individual responsibility; it is a community obligation. There is a simplicity to the virus: no one is safe unless everyone is safe," he said. Cuomo said he understands the "cynicism and skepticism" some communities feel and said it was "not without cause. The Tuskegee Experiment is a terrible stain on the soul of this nation. The system does have biases and injustices. But that is not true in the case of this vaccine," he said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1932, "the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for Blacks." Researchers told the men they were being treated for "bad blood," the CDC said; but the reality was that the men didn't receive proper treatment. They received free medical exams, meals, and burial insurance for partaking in the study. Although the study was supposed to last six months it went on for 40 years, the CDC said. Cuomo said the vaccine needs to be available for all. "COVID exposed many existing injustices in our society. It showed us the health disparities that exist, and how many communities don't have fair access to healthcare. COVID showed that racism is a public health crisis also," he said. COVID has killed Black people in America at two times the rate of white people, he said, and Hispanic people at 1.5 times the rate of white people, Cuomo said. "Testing for COVID was more available in richer, whiter communities, and the infection rate was higher in Black, Hispanic, and poor communities," Cuomo said. "This can't happen again, and it can't happen with this vaccine." A special task force in New York will help raise awareness and ensure fair access to the vaccine, he said. In addition, portable pop-up vaccination sites are slated to be brought to public housing authorities, churches, and community centers around the state.