New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo and called him arrogant for suggesting that fining hospitals would help speed up the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in the state.
Cuomo told reporters during his first press briefing on the coronavirus of 2021 that the state has administered about 300,000 doses of the vaccine so far, but that hospitals in New York have used just 46% of their allocated doses as of Monday. In response to this, the governor announced a rule on Monday that says any healthcare provider that’s given the vaccine must use its inventory within one week or it will face a fine of up to $100,000 and may be disqualified from receiving future doses.
"Some hospitals do 99% of allocation, they're much better at administering. I want to get needles in arms," Cuomo said, according to NBC New York. "If you can't do that within seven days, then raise your hand. I'd rather have the faster hospitals."
De Blasio ripped Cuomo's plan in an interview on NY1, saying, "That's just arrogance. Does he think that our healthcare professionals are uninterested in vaccinating people? How about trusting the people that have been our heroes? … Respect and trust our healthcare professionals. They are the people that do the work. They are the people that know best."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.