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Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it…Winston Churchill in 1948
Given what happened in New York in the spring of 2020, how would our current leaders respond if a pandemic were to occur again tomorrow?
Without a thorough investigation into decisions made at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, I fear we will once again be putting lives and livelihoods at risk.
This was a catastrophic event, and there has never been a thorough post-mortem to assess and analyze the decisions made at the highest levels of government. When we look back at some of the worst disasters our country has experienced, such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, there were investigations, post-mortems, public hearings and investigations to reflect on and learn from.
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I am hopeful that the Pandemic Response Study Commission Act (A. 8053 and S. 8168) being considered by New York state legislators will begin a process that seeks to provide answers and accountability. Because for many of our families, this is very personal.
We lost my husband’s parents in late March and early April of 2020 after reckless orders were issued to admit thousands of coronavirus patients to adult facilities.
In the past few years since their deaths, I have attended countless meetings and public hearings advocating for legislation to be passed, but to date, nothing has happened.
We, the citizens of New York, have a right to know how and why these decisions were made and who approved them.
The pandemic is much bigger than the flaws of one official, but the entire system is broken to begin with and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.
One thing we knew very early on in the pandemic was that older people were the most susceptible to the virus. Our questions include figuring out the origin of the March 25 order that sent nursing homes inundated with coronavirus patients. Were doctors and scientists involved in those decisions? And why were the makeshift hospitals, consisting of the Jacob Javits Center in New York City and the hospital set up on the USS Comfort, not used?
This information can only be accessed with subpoena authority. Without it, we lack the data, communications, and testimonies that help us better understand how these life-or-death decisions are made.
Also still unanswered is why former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his health department vastly undercounted the number of nursing home deaths from COVID-19 by up to 50%.
A state audit released in March 2022 found the New York State Department of Health to be woefully unprepared to respond to outbreaks in nursing homes.
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New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in a statement:
“The findings of our audit are deeply disturbing. New Yorkers deserve to know the truth, and yet the public was misled by those at the highest levels of state government through distortion and suppression of facts.”
In November 2020, former Governor Cuomo published a book titled “America’s Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” (for which he received an advance payment of $5.1 million). Stated.
“We will make mistakes in life. We try not to, but we end up making them. The important thing is to be strong and secure enough to admit your mistakes and admit your shortcomings.” That’s the thing.”
Yet, Governor Cuomo has yet to admit the mistakes he made as a leader during the biggest health crisis of our lifetime. His role in responding to the worst disaster in New York state history must be examined for accountability.
To this day, we still do not know the exact number of seniors we have lost or the comprehensive follow-up review that state officials have developed regarding their response to COVID-19.
Letitia James of New York appeals court ruling blocking forced isolation and isolation
The pandemic is much bigger than the flaws of one official, but the entire system is broken to begin with and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.
In November 2022, Governor Hochul commissioned a Virginia-based consulting firm to review New York State’s coronavirus response regarding New York state’s pandemic preparedness. The cost was $4.3 million, and he had one year to submit his report.
We are still waiting to discover them.
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More than 80,000 New Yorkers have died from the coronavirus, more than 15,000 of whom are elderly. With the exception of the Auditor General’s audit and Attorney General Letitia James’ report in January 2021 that found nursing homes were inadequately equipped and unprepared to deal with the pandemic, there is no evidence that our government has I haven’t seen anything that suggests any adjustments or responses are being made. Establish protocols to ensure this never happens again.
A Category 5 disaster that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of New Yorkers should be a priority for everyone concerned about the future safety of our state and its citizens. These issues need to transcend partisan politics. It is our responsibility to remind our leaders that if we do not learn from our past and the mistakes we have made, our loved ones will have died in vain.
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That’s why I encourage members of Congress and all New Yorkers to come together and support the passage of the Pandemic Response Study Commission Act, A. 8053 and S. 8168. Thank you to Representative Jessica Gonzalez Rojas of Queens and Senate Sponsor Julia Salazar. Thank you to the people of Brooklyn who sponsored this bill. There have been proposals and well-intentioned public hearings in the past, but we hope this one will cross the finish line.
Because each day that passes without an answer means that we are further away from ultimately uncovering the truth.
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