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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday he was ready to take legal action against the Trump administration over his proposal COVID-19[female[feminine vaccine distribution plan, claiming that it could result in unequal distribution to low-income communities and black and brown communities.
“We will fight to make sure every life is protected in the same way because enough people have died and enough injustices have been committed during COVID,” Cuomo said. “It stops now and it stops with this vaccine.”
President Trump said on Friday that the federal government develop a plan to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to all Americans as early as April. But he chose New York – and Cuomo in particular – for calling for an independent group to review any vaccine before it’s distributed in the state.
“As of April, the vaccine will be available to the entire population, with the exception of places like New York State where, for political reasons, the governor decided to say, and I don’t think it is be good politically, I think it’s very bad from a health point of view, but he wants to take his time on the vaccine, he does not trust where the vaccine comes from, ”Mr. Trump said on Friday. “We won’t deliver it to New York until we get permission to do so, and it pains me to say so.”
Cuomo and New York Attorney General Letitia James hit back Friday, James issuing a statement saying “This is nothing more than vindictive behavior by a lame president trying to get revenge on those who oppose to its policy. “
But Cuomo went further on Sunday, in an address at the historic Riverside Church in the Bronx. He said the Trump administration’s plan to distribute the vaccine through private companies would mean low-income communities – and particularly communities of color – would not have access to a vaccine.
Cuomo cited a 1982 ruling that said denying rights to an isolated group is an affront to the Constitution’s equal protection clause. He said New York was ready to join the National Urban League and the NAACP in a lawsuit to change the distribution plan.
“If the Trump administration doesn’t change this plan and provide a fair vaccination process, we will uphold our legal rights,” Cuomo said. “We are going to take legal action to protect New Yorkers.”
Cuomo used a “low tide” analogy, saying that COVID-19 has exposed “the ugliness and flaws deep within our society.”
“COVID was at low tide and we saw our ugliness,” Cuomo said. “The truth is, COVID is not the only virus that attacks us. We are attacked by other viruses. COVID has weakened our immune system and when your immune system is weakened you are attacked by other viruses. . And that’s what happened to America. “
Cuomo highlighted the inequality in what Americans have been infected with with COVID-19, saying he has exposed “systemic inequality.”
As COVID-19 cases increase across the country, there has also been an increase in New York City, which was the epicenter of the outbreak in the spring. Cuomo had previously said schools would close if the region achieved a 3% rate of tests coming back positive. Although the rate in New York City, the nation’s largest school district, has hovered around 3% all week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday the rate had dropped and schools could remain open for now.
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