US governors send questions to federal gov’t about COVID-19 vaccination plan

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

New York, (Asian independent) The National Governors Association (NGA) sent a list of questions to the Trump Administration seeking clarification on how the federal government will most effectively distribute and administer a COVID-19 vaccine.

The list of questions, which was submitted from Republican and Democratic governors from around the country, covers funding for the administration of a vaccine, allocation and supply chain, and communication and information requirements, said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, also NGA chair, during his daily press conference on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The distribution and implementation of the vaccine is a massive undertaking that cannot be managed without significant logistical coordination, planning and financial assistance between states and the federal government,” he was quoted as saying in a press release issued by his office.

“We asked to meet with the president to discuss how this is supposed to work between the federal government and the states. We are now releasing a compilation of questions from governors all across the country, Democratic and Republican, saying to the White House: how is this going to work? We need to answer these questions before the vaccine is available so that we are ready to go and no one is caught flat-footed when the time comes to vaccinate people,” he added.

The primary questions they asked include: Will there be funding allocated to states to assist with distribution of the vaccine and other vaccine efforts? How will the vaccine be allocated to states? What formula will be used? When can we expect clarification on which stakeholders will contract directly with the federal government?

US President Donald Trump said on September 18 that the United States would produce enough coronavirus vaccine doses for “every American” by April 2021.

The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University has reported 219,556 coronavirus deaths and 8,133,373 confirmed cases in the United States as of Sunday afternoon, both the worst among all the countries in the world.