Senate Bill S5398

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5398

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act relating to requiring the department of health to provide at
least one site in each county of the state which offers COVID-19 vacci-
nations

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to require the state department of
health to locate at least one COVID vaccination site in every county of
the state; each county would have the option to not participate. A
vaccination enrollment portal will also be established to facilitate the
coordination of vaccination appointments.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 - The state Department of Health shall establish at least one
location in each county in the state where COVID-19 vaccinations shall
              

be available provided, however, that a county may opt out of such
Department of Health vaccination site requirement by providing written
notification of such option to the department.

Section 2 - The state Department of Health shall establish an enrollment
portal enabling residents to receive notification when they become
eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination and the location of the site(s)
nearest the resident.

Section 3 - Effective Date - Immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As more COVID-19 vaccines become available and are regularly being
delivered to New York State, it is imperative that access to vaccines be
expanded with conscious effort to include our more underserved areas and
rural communities. We have to ensure that every New Yorker who wants a
vaccine can get a vaccine without having to travel multiple hours away
from home. We have seen the efficiency with which the state-run vaccina-
tion sites have operated, however, those sites tend to be clustered in
more highly dense, urban areas and are often difficult or impossible for
people living in rural areas, especially our seniors, to get to. We are
at a crucial moment in this pandemic where we must make it as easy as
possible for people to get vaccinated.This requires that the state
Department of Health use its resources to ensure every county has access
to a state run site, if they would like one, so that we can get everyone
across the State of New York vaccinated in a timely manner in order to
safely get us out of this pandemic, keep people healthy, and reopen the
economy.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Legislation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.