{"id":288744,"date":"2021-01-15T10:31:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T15:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/?p=288744"},"modified":"2021-01-15T10:31:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T15:31:26","slug":"comptroller-stringer-op-ed-the-vaccine-rollout-in-new-york-city-is-faltering-but-heres-how-to-change-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/newsroom\/comptroller-stringer-op-ed-the-vaccine-rollout-in-new-york-city-is-faltering-but-heres-how-to-change-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Comptroller Stringer Op-Ed: The Vaccine Rollout in New York City is Faltering\u2014But Here\u2019s How to Change That"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>(New York, NY)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Fortune\u00a0published an op-ed by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on how to achieve a fast, transparent, and equitable vaccine distribution. Comptroller Stringer outlined his recommendations including implementing a single, functional online platform for vaccine sign-ups; developing a centralized database to help hospitals and health care providers track demand and usage; and\u00a0publicizing information on vaccine eligibility, where to receive vaccinations, and how to register in advance.<\/p>\n<p>Text of the op-ed is available below and can be viewed online\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nyc.us13.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=bf606302e0aec6b092c87b850&amp;id=00ab0f95dc&amp;e=59df8c1601\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\">here<\/a>.<br \/>\n<em>After months of social, emotional, and economic suffering and unprecedented loss of life, the prospect of widely available vaccines has offered New Yorkers hope for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resumption of normal life. But early delays and complications in the vaccines\u2019 rollout have left New Yorkers confused and concerned.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We need fast, transparent, and equitable vaccine distribution. But the city\u2019s coordination and communication have been inadequate:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nyc.us13.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=bf606302e0aec6b092c87b850&amp;id=ad99b8eae5&amp;e=59df8c1601\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\">Only 34% of the total vaccine doses<\/a>\u00a0delivered to sites around the city have been administered, and there are widespread reports of vaccine doses languishing in freezers rather than being deployed to the long list of people anxiously waiting their turn.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>When it comes to actually getting an appointment for the vaccine, New Yorkers have to navigate multiple distribution systems\u2014each complex and buggy. One of the websites has a multistep verification process just to set up an account and then a six-step process to set up an appointment. Nothing about these platforms is fast or accessible\u2014especially to vulnerable communities and seniors. This includes people without Internet access, lacking digital literacy, and with language barriers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We\u2019ve had months to prepare for an effective, efficient rollout. New York City should have been No. 1 in vaccinations in the nation from day one\u2014using every tool at our disposal to set up a smooth, equitable process. Instead we\u2019ve set up a bottlenecked, bug-ridden system that discourages and disenfranchises the very same people who have been hit hardest by this pandemic and who need the vaccine most.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Any roadblocks getting shots in arms is only going to prolong the agony of this public health and economic crisis. We should optimize vaccine access and distribution in a number of commonsense ways.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>First, we should implement a single, functional online platform for vaccine sign-ups. Rather than have multiple ineffectual city government websites, we need one city platform that works.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>With dramatically better design on the front and back ends, we can fix the complicated user experience that has confounded New Yorkers and ensure the platform can seamlessly allow sign-ups without bugs, crashes, and lockouts. We should of course be gathering basic details about those vaccinated\u2014age, race, occupation, and the zip code where they live\u2014but beyond that, signing up should take no more than a minute or two.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Second, we must develop a centralized database to help hospitals and health care providers track demand and usage. Real-time data is crucial to ensuring an effective response to this virus. Vaccines have stringent storage requirements and an uncertain supply chain, which pose logistical challenges to moving them around quickly.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Centralized reporting, procurement, and stock management will forecast needs more clearly, and help allocate and redistribute vaccine doses to areas of higher need. A central database would also streamline targeted technical, administrative, and financial assistance.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Third, we should immediately and widely publicize information on vaccine eligibility, where to receive vaccinations, and how to register in advance. There must be constant, clear communication with residents about how the vaccines are being rolled out and when different categories of New Yorkers are eligible to register for waiting lists, make appointments, or walk in.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Fourth, let\u2019s stop reserving existing stock for a second round of vaccinations. Our private hospital systems are not doing so and neither should our public ones, and arguments otherwise perpetuate structural inequity in our health systems and in our city.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>New York City built a nationally recognized COVID-19 testing system\u2014and we must apply the same energy to vaccine deployment. Every moment we delay prolongs the physical and economic pain that we have already endured for too long. We cannot afford to waste any more time\u2014or doses.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(New York, NY)\u00a0\u2014 Fortune\u00a0published an op-ed by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on how to achieve a fast, transparent, and equitable vaccine distribution. Comptroller Stringer outlined his recommendations including implementing a single, functional online platform for vaccine sign-ups; developing a centralized database to help hospitals and health care providers track demand and usage;&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/newsroom\/comptroller-stringer-op-ed-the-vaccine-rollout-in-new-york-city-is-faltering-but-heres-how-to-change-that\/\"><strong>Read More<\/strong><\/a>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":288746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,190],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288748,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288744\/revisions\/288748"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}