Jen Psaki dodged a question Sunday on whether Joe Biden still considers New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's COVID-19 response the 'gold standard' in the midst of his nursing home scandal.
'Does President Biden still consider Andrew Cuomo the gold standard when it comes to leadership on the pandemic?' ABC 'This Week' host John Karl asked the White House press secretary.
'Well, Jon, we work with Governor Cuomo, just like we work with governors across the country. He's also chair of the NGA,' Psaki dodged. 'So, he plays an important role in insuring that we're coordinating closely and getting assistance out to people of his state and to states across the country. And we'll continue to do that.'
Karl pushed: 'All right. But, Jen, my question was, does President Biden still believe that Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard – represents the gold standard on leadership during this pandemic? Just a yes or no. Does he still consider him a gold standard?'
'Well, it doesn't always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon,' she shot back.
'I think the president is focused on his goals, his objectives as president of the United States,' Psaki continued. 'He's going to continue to work with Governor Cuomo, just like he'll continue to work with governors across the country.'
'And I'm not here to give new labels or names from the president. I'm here to communicate with you about what our focuses are and what his objectives are as president.'
As of Sunday morning, more than 28 million Americans have contracted coronavirus and the death toll is nearing 500,000.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged questions Sunday over whether President Joe Biden still considers New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's coronavirus response the 'gold standard' in the midst of the nursing home deaths scandal
'It doesn't always have to be a yes or no answer,' Psaki quipped when pushed on the matter. She said the administration would still work with Cuomo to get aid to New York
An investigation this week found that Cuomo may have intentionally misled the public on the number of nursing home deaths related to coronavirus after ordering those hospitalized with the virus to return to their facilities
This week, Cuomo – a Democrat – was revealed to have knowingly and intentionally misled the public on the number of coronavirus-related deaths in New York nursing homes.
Last spring, then-presidential candidate Biden classified Cuomo's response to the raging as the 'gold standard'.
'Your governor of New York has done one hell of a job. I think he's sort of the gold standard,' he said at the time.
Revelations of the latest scandal has New Yorkers furious.
'The governor has abused his powers,' New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Democrat from Queens, told Fox News on Saturday. 'He has a pattern of abusive behavior. He has abused me and my family by calling me and threatening my career in front of my kids, in front of my wife.'
'We must hold him accountable,' Kim continued, 'that's what's at stake right now.'
Psaki defended Cuomo on Sunday during her interview with ABC News.
'He plays an important role in insuring that we're coordinating closely and getting assistance out to people of his state and to states across the country,' she said. 'And we'll continue to do that.'
'We're going to continue to work with a range of governors including, of course, Governor Cuomo because we think the people of New York, the people of states across the country, need assistance not just to get through the pandemic but to get through this difficult economic time, and that's where our focus remains,' Biden's press secretary continued.
A recent New York State Attorney General office investigation of Cuomo found his office may have misled the public on the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes after ordering elderly people hospitalized with the virus to be returned to their facilities – potentially leading to a slew of outbreaks.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office have now also begun investigations into Cuomo's handling of the nursing home deaths and any potential cover-up.
Those 60 and older are among those most at-risk of dying from contracting the virus.
Cuomo’s nursing home policy may have led to the deaths of 1,000 vulnerable people from COVID-19, according to a new study.
The administration is in increasingly hot water for allegedly hiding the amount of nursing home deaths early in the pandemic, and a study by the Empire Center for Public Policy validates the concerns around the numbers reported.
In the study, which was obtained by the New York Post, Cuomo's original strategy that told nursing homes to take COVID-19 patients from the hospital is linked to 'several hundred and possibly more than 1,000' deaths.
Cuomo's nursing home strategy likely contributed to 1,000 deaths, according to a new study, and he is facing intensifying criticism for sending sick seniors back to these facilities from hospitals and for allegedly intentionally under-counting deaths
Just a few weeks ago, New York said less than 9,000 nursing home residents died of COVID-19
The study said: 'The findings contradict a central conclusion of the state Department of Health’s July 6 report on coronavirus in nursing homes, which said, among other things: "Admission policies were not a significant factor in nursing home fatalities," and "the data do not show a consistent relationship between admissions and increased mortality."'
There were reportedly 5,780 deaths in New York nursing homes from late March to early May. Cuomo's directive could be tied to one in six of those deaths, according to the study by the nonprofit watchdog.
The policy was in effect from March 25 to May 10.
New York's Department of Health has often pushed back against the assertion that the mandate had anything to do with nursing home deaths.
'Admission policies were not a significant factor in nursing home fatalities,' Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said in July.
'The March 25 guidance was not the driving force in nursing home deaths.'
Even in the face of the new study, Zucker is continuing to assert that the mandate and nursing home deaths are not related.
Zucker told the Post that the study was 'consistent with the Department of Health’s analysis that found the March 25 guidance was not a driver of COVID infections and fatalities and COVID was introduced to nursing homes primarily through staff and visitors.'
Zucker has also claimed that of the 365 nursing homes that admitted patients from hospital between March 25 and May 10, 98 percent were already dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.
The Empire Center has 99 percent confidence in their study, which was conducted by comparing the rates at nursing homes that admitted COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals versus nursing homes that did not.
Outside of New York City, nursing homes averaged 9.3 more deaths if they admitted COVID-19 discharges.
The same wasn't true in New York City, which is likely due to the rapid spread of the virus in the early days of the pandemic.
Over 13,000 nursing home patients in New York have died of COVID-19, though weeks ago the state was reporting that it was less than 9,000 people.
The new study led by the Empire Center of Public Policy led to a rebuke by Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, who maintains Cuomo's mandate about COVID-19 discharges going to nursing homes had nothing to do with the rise in nursing home deaths
Bill Hammond, who wrote the report, said the mandate 'clearly did make some difference and it made a bad situation worse.'
'Their methodology was questionable — we know they used partial data for crucial variables, deaths and admissions,' Hammond said of the state's numbers.
'It’s not clear that they looked for, let alone reported, the kind of statistical correlation that we found.'
Cuomo's administration is under increasing fire the way they've reported the COVID-19 numbers, particularly in regards to nursing homes.
Top aide to Cuomo Melissa DeRosa admitted recently that the administration was hiding the numbers of nursing home deaths.
There have been calls for Cuomo to resign or be prosecuted.
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez called for a 'full investigation' into Cuomo's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
'I support our state's return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during COVID-19,' she said in a statement.
'Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic. Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership, and the Secretary to the Governor's remarks warrant a full investigation.'
A majority of New Yorkers claimed in a recent survey that Cuomo did not do a good job handling the nursing home crisis.
Additionally, a feud has erupted with Assemblyman Ron Kim, who claims that he was threatened by Cuomo over the scandal.
'Governor Cuomo called me directly on Thursday to threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said,' Kim told CNN on Wednesday.
'He tried to pressure me to issue a statement, and it was a very traumatizing experience.'
Cuomo appeared to show some conciliatory signs during a press conference on Friday.
'I take responsibility for all of it, period,' Cuomo said of not counting the nursing home deaths fully.
'We created a void by not producing enough public information fast enough.'
But he also brought partisanship into the conversation, citing the 'toxic political environment' as a factor in the scandal.
Cuomo also appeared to blame the nursing homes themselves for the deadly toll they've witnessed.
'They were only supposed to take patients if they could,' Cuomo said of the nursing homes.
''I'm not going to allow people to lie to the people of New York without answering them,' Cuomo added. 'I have very thick skin. I don't really care what people say about me. I agreed to this nasty business because I believe I can do good things. I'm not going to let you lie to them.'
Cuomo also said nursing home visits can begin again under national heath guidelines.
There have been over 1.57 million coronavirus cases in New York, with 45,957 deaths, meaning the nursing home deaths make up over a quarter of all fatalities in the state.
In the United States, there have been over 27 million COVID-19 cases and over 495,000 deaths from the virus.
In the Spring, then-presidential candidate Biden called Cuomo's response to the pandemic the 'gold standard'
New York, as well as many other areas of the country, are currently suffering a shortage of vaccinations in the midst of the raging winter storms.
'We've been able to get about 2 million of those 6 million doses out, we expect to rapidly catch up this week, fill that backlog, make sure they're out to communities, and also meet our deadlines and our timelines of the doses that are due to go out this upcoming week,' Psaki told Karl.
Biden has promised 100 million people will be vaccinated against coronavirus in his first 100 days in office.
So far, the administration has been on schedule to reach that goal – but this set back could throw that whole plan off course.
No comments:
Post a Comment