New York hospitals may face $100,000 in fines if they do not use up their share of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Jan. 4 media briefing.
Mr. Cuomo said the state health department issued regulations to speed the vaccine allocation process.
Specifically, vaccine providers now will have seven days to use all vaccine doses allocated to them. Those that fail to comply may face fines or be disqualified from administrating future vaccine doses. The regulations take effect immediately, Mr. Cuomo said.
Mr. Cuomo said about 300,000 residents in New York have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but just 46 percent of all doses have been administered.
Samaritan Hospital in Troy has administered 15 percent; Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow has given 19 percent; and Montefiore Health System in New York City has administered 30 percent, the governor said.
"We want those vaccines in people's arms," Mr. Cuomo said. "We need them to administer the vaccines faster."