A leader in Western New York's Catholic Health System said that, when it comes to the structure of a vaccine rollout, there are three components – the most important of which is regional planning.
The other two are operations and logistics teams.
“This planning coalition needs to be based on data, information, census data, disease prevalence, co-morbidities, those most vulnerable among the population of citizens throughout the five counties,” Mark A. Sullivan, CEO of Catholic Health System, said Wednesday.
“So the regional planning group will need to be focusing on that, and that group will be underway shortly,” Sullivan said.
The five counties in the Western New York region are Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Allegany.
“In order to vaccinate, we need to have an operations team, and, again, this structure has been determined at the state level, and all 10 regions (across the state) or hub leads or coordinators will be using the same structure,” Sullivan said.
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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had credited Western New Yorkers on Wednesday with reining in the spread of the coronavirus, and held it up as one of the examples the rest of the state could follow.
"Western New York ... seems to have flattened and is reducing," the governor said during a briefing from Albany. "We've been steadfast on the message there. I think people get it. People are understanding. ... We're going to get Western New York in good shape."
Cuomo pointed to Western New York no longer having the highest positive coronavirus test rate in the state, which was the case for much of November.
Cuomo had said that coronavirus vaccinations in New York State will be free, with the state advising insurance companies that "they will have to pay that cost themselves."
"In New York State, no person will have to pay a penny for a vaccination," Cuomo said.
The state's deployment of vaccines will include regional vaccination hubs that are to work with communities and local stakeholders in an effort to most effectively distribute the vaccines.
Cuomo said Western New York's hub will be the Catholic Health System.
The governor said New York has received 87,000 Pfizer vaccines thus far and expects an additional 80,000, while an allocation of 346,000 doses from Moderna were anticipated later this month.
A Moderna vaccine allocation to the state is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 22.
Cuomo said that the initial phase of vaccinations targeted at health care workers and nursing homes will be followed by a second phase for essential workers and the "high-priority general public."
Cuomo said that the high-priority category is for those with underlying health conditions, and estimated that the second phase would start in late January.
Sullivan said Catholic Health is honored to have been appointed a hub coordinator for Western New York.
Sullivan said Catholic Health is in the process of developing a plan within a phased approach that has been outlined by the state.
"One of the first things we'll be doing will be to create a healthcare equity task force that will be focused on making sure they are listening to the community and members of all diverse backgrounds," Sullivan said, "to determine the vaccination process and where points of dispensing (the vaccinations) will be established."
He added that it was important that no one gets left behind, and that as a group they act expeditiously, safely and equitably when it comes to administering the vaccinations.
“…The vaccinations will be informed by the planning committee and the health equity task force, and that will report up to the hub lead,” Sullivan said.
“It’s important to note that the hub lead is just one of three in the structure. We’ll be working very closely with local government, as well as trade associations and local labor, as well,” he added.
The state's Western New York region has a seven-day average rate of 6.7% through Tuesday's testing. That is fourth-highest among the state's 10 regions.
The region's rate was under 1% in late August, before steadily rising throughout the fall and spiking in November.
The rate reached as high as 7.4% for the first five days of December, but has fallen since.
Cuomo pointed to Western New York while discussing the possibility of shutdowns in New York City, where rates are rising.
"They're 'getting it' in Western New York and the numbers are coming down," Cuomo said. "We know that we can change the numbers."
The Western New York region's hospitalization total has also improved.
The region's total of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus was 527 through Tuesday. The total reached a high of 548 on Dec. 10, and has twice dropped to 520. Tuesday's total marked a one-day increase of seven.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Wednesday via Twitter that the county's hospitalizations had decreased slightly in recent days. The county's total was 457 on Dec. 10, but stood at 421 on Monday.
