Cuomo’s vaccine remark missing context
NY governor finds plan for distribution flawed
On Nov. 9, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its collaborator BioNTech announced their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was more than 90% effective. Within hours of this rare COVID-19 silver lining, one of the pandemic’s most famous faces, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, found himself the subject of viral criticism.
“It’s one thing not to want vaccines in general. It’s a whole ’nother thing not to want vaccines because of (President Donald) Trump,” Joseph Saldino said in a Nov. 9 TikTok. “This is some serious Trump derangement syndrome. It’s almost like they want people to die. Should Cuomo be put on trial?”
Wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, Saladino gestured before an image of a Nov. 9 tweet that came from a “Joey Saladino Show” fan account. The tweet reads: “Cuomo says it’s ‘bad news’ that COVID vaccine came under Trump. Cuomo says ‘ We can’t let Trump’s Vaccine Distribution Plan go Forward.’ Should Cuomo be put on trial for Crimes against humanity?”
“I assume he wants to wait for President-elect Joe) Biden because Biden’s plan will come with more aid for the state,” Saladino told USA TODAY. “This whole thing is all about politics, not about saving lives anymore.”
Cuomo made a statement about the COVID-19 vaccine in a Nov. 9 “Good Morning America” interview. The full clip reveals he was discussing his fears about proper vaccine distribution, not his political preferences.
“The bad news is that it’s about two months before Joe Biden takes over and that means this administration is going to be implementing a vaccine plan,” said Cuomo.
“The Trump administration is rolling out the vaccination plan and I believe it’s flawed. I believe it learns nothing from the past,” he explained. “They’re basically going to have the private providers do it and that’s going to leave out all sorts of communities that were left out the first time when COVID ravaged them.”
Cuomo then said he believed President-elect Biden would implement a plan that would be more inclusive, science-driven and apolitical.
“‘Listen to the science’ is the exact opposite of Trump, but you have two months and we can’t let this vaccination plan go forward the way the Trump administration is designing it,” he said. “Because Biden can’t undo it two months later, we’ll be in the midst of it.”
Cuomo said he and other governors were discussing how they could “fix” Trump’s plan or “stop” implementation before it’s harmful.
Cuomo’s office released the audio and rush transcript online the same day.
Cuomo’s senior adviser Richard Azzopardi said the governor was raising red flags about Trump’s distribution plan and does not have a plan to block vaccine distribution.
He expressed concern that states weren’t correctly prepared for vaccine distribution. As an example, he described how states aren’t ready to offer mobile frozen storage.
On Oct. 15, Cuomo, who chairs the National Governors Association, sent a letter to Trump requesting answers about the role governors would play in the president’s national vaccination campaign. Cuomo wrote the letter with NGA vice chair, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican.
Cuomo has criticized the president’s pandemic response for months. On Oct. 25 he called the administration’s refusal to control COVID-19’s spread “the great American surrender.”
After an Oct. 30 call with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Cuomo said the vaccine distribution plan was “deeply flawed.”
He criticized its reliance on privatized pharmacies, which Trump’s plan calls public-private partnerships.
“The main distribution would be private pharmacies. CVS, Walgreens, et cetera, and private providers. That is a very limited distribution mechanism,” he said. “They do not provide for a state to organize vaccination with state personnel on any scale. So you have a limited distribution network.”
He said the plan would overwhelm the distribution network, which is already contracted to do coronavirus testing, and force health care providers to “sacrifice one or the other.”
“It could take one year to vaccinate the population using only a private sector network,” he said. “This country can’t afford to take one year to do vaccinations. So, I think their fundamental plan, while simplistic, is deeply flawed.”
Our rating: Missing context
When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it was “bad news” a vaccine may become available during the Trump administration, he was discussing his concerns about distribution not his political preference. His full interview, previous statements and a senior adviser confirm Cuomo has long been skeptical of Trump’s vaccine distribution plan. We rate this claim MISSING CONTEXT, because without additional context it might be misleading.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.