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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and a coalition of groups today issued a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar calling for a fair and equitable federal vaccination program. The current federal distribution program still remains focused on a misguided distribution plan which ignores Black, Brown, Asian and poor communities. Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, New York has fought to modify the plan to engage community and faith-based leaders to instill confidence in the vaccine, and assist with its distribution to these historically underserved communities.

"As we approach the start of the COVID-19 vaccination program, I continue to urge the federal government to amend their plans to include equitable distribution in the communities hardest hit by the pandemic," Governor Cuomo said. "Black, Hispanic, Asian and low-income communities paid the highest price during COVID-19. Historically underserved by healthcare institutions, it is up to the federal government to rectify their program to focus on providing these communities with the highest quality care and access to the vaccine. With the first round of vaccines being distributed as soon as next week, there is no time to waste. I urge the administration to act and provide solutions quickly."

The full text of the letter is below:

December 10, 2020

Dear Secretary Azar:

We stand together in expressing serious concern with the Trump administration's vaccine distribution plan. While we are encouraged by recent reports regarding the vaccines' efficacy, there is urgent work to be done to ensure vaccination efforts are both expeditious and fair.

Governors need federal funding in order to execute comprehensive distribution plans to guarantee that all communities have access to the vaccine. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials estimates that a comprehensive vaccine distribution program would cost approximately $8 billion. To date, the Trump Administration has administered a mere $200 million to the states.

Without adequate funding, distribution will not be equitable. COVID-19 has laid bare chronic health disparities in our country that led communities of color to suffer disproportionately from this virus. Communities of color disproportionately suffer from pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, obesity and hypertension, that compound the harm the virus can cause -- Black Americans died at twice the rate of white Americans due to COVID, and Latinos died at one and a half times the rate of whites. The underlying reality is that communities of color lack access to healthcare institutions and services. But in its current form, the Trump Administration's vaccine plan relies on private health facilities that have historically excluded Black and brown communities. By relying on a flawed, biased system, the administration's approach will only serve to further widen existing disparities in health outcomes.

The essential workers who carried this nation through the worst of this pandemic are predominately people of color. They especially deserve a national vaccine plan designed to ensure they are protected.

Marc Morial, undersigned and the President and CEO of the National Urban League, has said the Trump Administration's plan is, "thoughtless, careless and needs to be taken back to the drawing board." Derrick Johnson, undersigned and President and CEO of the NAACP, has said that, "any introduction of a vaccine plan devoid of the infrastructure we know is effective within the Black community reinforces the same incompetence that has affected far too many communities that have been neglected in the midst of this global pandemic." The Reverend Al Sharpton, undersigned and the President and Founder of National Action Network said, "I've seen this movie before. Many Black Americans live in healthcare deserts, where there are no hospitals or healthcare centers in our area. This has hurt us badly during the COVID crisis. This unfair treatment is about to happen again. I don't see how we will see equal distribution of the vaccine based on the federal plan. That must be fixed immediately."

The Black and brown communities that were first on the list of who died from COVID cannot be last on the list of who receives the vaccine. Our federal government needs to stand up and deliver a world-class vaccination program that quickly and comprehensively reaches underserved communities of color. The private market alone is incapable. We need to enlist faith-based organizations, neighborhood groups and local non-profits with deep roots in Black, brown and poor communities to get this done. And we need the funding to do so.

This pandemic cannot end, and our country will not truly be safe, until everyone has access to a vaccine. The Trump Administration must implement a national vaccine plan that does not leave any community behind, and it must do so now. Time is short. We stand prepared to work with your team and the federal government to execute a vaccination program worthy of these United States.

Sincerely,

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Derrick JohnsonPresident & CEONAACP

Marc MorialPresident & CEONational Urban League

Reverend Al SharptonPresident & FounderNational Action Network

Wilbur AldridgeMid Hudson/Westchester Regional DirectorNAACP New York State Conference

Kevin W. AlexanderPresident & CEORockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation

Gregory AndersonPresident & CEOBridge Street Development Corporation

Phillip AndrewsPresidentLong Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Bishop Dr. Roger BallFounding PastorFamily Worship Center

Mark BarbeeInternational RepresentativeUAW Region 9

Daniel BarberCCOP PresidentNYCHA Citywide Council of Presidents

Thomas Beauford, Jr.President & CEOBuffalo Urban League

Reverend Dr. A. R. BernardSenior PastorChristian Cultural Center

Twiggy BilluePresidentNational Action Network Syracuse Chapter

Reverend Mark E. BluePresidentBuffalo Branch NAACP

Kyle BraggPresident32BJ SEIU

Bishop Victor A. BrownSenior PastorMount Sinai United Christian Church, Inc.

Linda Brown-RobinsonPresidentSyracuse Onondaga NAACP

Reverend Dr. Calvin O. ButtsSenior PastorAbyssinian Baptist Church

Joy D. CallowayInterim CEOPlanned Parenthood of Greater New York

Reverend Dr. Demetrius S. Carolina, Sr.Pastor & Executive DirectorFirst Central Baptist Church, The Central Family Life Center

Robin Chappelle GolstonPresident & CEOPlanned Parenthood Empire State Acts

Dr. Isma H. ChaudhryChair, Board of TrusteesIslamic Center of Long Island

Dr. Linda ClarkPresident & Co-FounderBlack Physicians Network of Greater Rochester

Bishop Dr. Ismael ClaudioSenior PastorPentecostal Church of Jesus Christ, Inc.

Claudia CogerTenant Association PresidentAstoria Houses

Annie Cotton-MorrisQueens District ChairNYCHA

Reverend Charles A. CoverdaleSenior PastorFirst Baptist Church of Riverhead

Shirley E. CoverdalePresident & CEOFamily Community Life Center, Inc.

Reverend Dr. Phil CraigPastorThe Greater Springfield Community Church

Robert DarbyPresidentBakery Confectionary Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Local 36G

Reverend Troy DeCohenPresidentUnited Black Clergy of Westchester

Walter DixieExecutive DirectorJubilee Homes of Syracuse, Inc.

George R. DixonPresidentNAACP Corona East Elmhurst Chapter

Jacob DixonCEOChoice for All

Hazel DukesPresidentNAACP New York State Conference

Tracey EdwardsLong Island Regional DirectorNAACP New York State Conference

Archbishop Eric Figueroa, Sr.Sentior Pastor, New Life TabernacleMetropolitan Archbishop of New Life Covenant Archdiocese

Bishop Orlando FindlayterSenior PastorNew Hope Christian Fellowship

Reverend Dr. Elaine FlakeCo-PastorGreater Allen AME Cathedral

Reverend Dr. Floyd FlakeSenior PastorGreater Allen AME Cathedral

Richard FlateauChairpersonBrooklyn Community Planning Board #3

Gregory FloydPresident, Teamsters Local 237Vice President-At Large, International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Board

Pastor James GilesPresident & CEOBack To Basics Outreach Ministries, Inc.

Reverend Dr. Johnnie GreenSenior PastorMount Neboh Baptist Church

George GreshamPresident1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

Elaine GrossFounder & PresidentERASE Racism

Dr. Janice HarbinPresident & CEOAnthony Jordan Medical Center

Bishop Lionel HarveySenior Pastor/Teacher, First Baptist Cathedral of WestburyPresiding Bishop, Sword of the Spirit Christian Fellowship, Inc.

Mark HenryPresidentAmalgamated Transit Local #1056

Nicky Hylton-PattersonExecutive DirectorAdirondack Diversity Initiative

Reverend Daren C. JaimePastorPeople's African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Reverend Larry Jennings, Sr.PresidentNAACP Huntington Branch

Dr. Berenecea Johnson-EanesPresidentYork College

Bishop George Max JonesSenior PastorApostolic Church of Jesus Christ, Syracuse

Dominique JonesExecutive DirectorBoys & Girls Club of Harlem

Vira Lynn JonesExecutive DirectorBedford Stuyvesant Museum of African Art

Jennifer Jones AustinCEO & Executive DirectorFederation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

Hope KnightPresident & CEOGreater Jamaica Development Corporation

Imam Dr. Tahir KukiqiVice PresidentAlbanian Islamic Cultural Center

Reverend Dr. Adolphus LaceySenior PastorBethany Baptist Church

Maggie LarkinsCommunity LeaderFar Rockaway

H. Carl McCallChairman EmeritusState University of New York

Wendy McClintonPresident & CEOBlack Veterans for Social Justice, Inc.

Bishop Isaac MeltonChristian Light Missionary Baptist Church of Long Beach

Terrence L. MelvinSecretary-TreasurerNew York State AFL-CIO

Reverend Greg MerriweatherPastorCalvary Baptist Church

William King Moss IIIPresidentNAACP Islip Town Branch

Reverend Dr. Les MullingsSenior PastorCommunity Church of the Nazarene, Far Rockaway

Jacqueline NelsonPresidentNAACP Rome NY

Wade NorwoodCEOCommon Ground Health

Dr. Philip OzuahPresident & CEOMontefiore Medical Center

Angelica Perez-DelgadoPresident & CEOIbero American Action League

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Governor Cuomo Issues Letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Urging Equity and Expeditious Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccine Program - ny.gov