NYC’s second bid to provide the NYPD with thousands of COVID vaccinations was in tatters Wednesday after the governor shut down City Hall’s attempt to move cops up in line by labeling them as medical first responders.
Cops were told less than six hours after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan Wednesday morning to get 25,000 shots in officers’ arms in the coming week that the vaccine would not be available for members of service.
“At this time, COVID-19 vaccinations are not available for members of the service. Members will be updated on any developments regarding the department’s COVID-19 vaccination roll-out,” an NYPD administration email sent out just after 4 p.m.
The boondoggle, which caused frustration and confusion for the more than 35,000 uniformed cops, is the latest chapter of the months-long pandemic power struggle between the mayor and governor.
City Hall says they still plan to move forward with the vaccination of officers who are trained EMTs Thursday — but could not provide details about how that would be done as police unions told members that plans to distribute jabs at Floyd Bennett Field had been kiboshed.
The ambitious plan to vaccinate more than 70 percent of the force hinged on categorizing NYPD officers as EMS providers because they administer basic medical care on the job.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo shot down the plan in the hours after de Blasio’s press conference, saying “police who are not health care workers are not yet eligible.”
State guidelines allow for any cops who are trained EMS providers, such as emergency medical technicians or paramedics, are eligible for the vaccine.
When City Hall was asked after the announcement how cops qualified, despite state guidance, a spokeswoman said, “These are officers who are on the ground, providing essential services – think CPR, administering Narcan, or responding to a 911 call.”
Police are part of Phases 1B, which includes firefighters and New Yorkers above the age of 75, according to a spokesman for the governor’s office, Peter Ajemian.
“Yes, we will follow the law and prioritize frontline hero nurses and doctors who run our critical hospitals and have been anxiously awaiting the chance to be vaccinated, plus EMS/EMT,” said Ajemian responding to de Blasio’s spokesman’s call on Twitter for the state to loosen restrictions on NYC’s vaccine rollout.
“It’s simple. We have the doses, let’s put it in their arms and help them save lives,” City Hall spokesman Bill Neidhardt tweeted.
Police sources estimate the tally of cops who are certified EMTs at fewer 200 — a far cry from the 10,000 officers de Blasio vowed to get vaccinated by Sunday.
The Detectives Endowment Association put the blame on Gov. Cuomo in a message to its members.
“Governor Cuomo, once again, canceled any COVID vaccine rollout to the NYPD.”
Lou Turco, the president of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, fired back at the state for not including cops in the first group.
“We went to work every day,” Turco said. “Obviously, there’s an importance to us. When are they getting to us? I think this all falls on the state. The state is the one deciding who gets it and when they get it.”
This was the second false start for NYPD to distribute the vaccination to its ranks.
Cops were previously told by Commissioner Dermot Shea last month they’d be receiving the vaccine, but that rollout was delayed by the state’s supply chain.