Cuomo slams critics after blaming hospitals, other officials for vaccine rollout failures

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Cuomo ‘hasn’t taken any responsibility’ for his handling of coronavirus pandemic: Janice Dean

Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean argues New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was ‘never called to task’ by the media, says families who have lost loved ones ‘want answers and accountability.’

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing back against criticism after he blamed other officials and hospitals for the state's slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

Cuomo threatened hospitals that do not distribute their vaccines quickly enough by warning that they could be fined or kept from receiving additional shipments.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio accused him of "arrogance," and questioning health care workers' desire to provide vaccinations.

NY ASSEMBLYMAN-ELECT SAYS CUOMO WANTED THE RESPONSIBILITY, SO BLAME RESTS WITH HIM

"Now, when I talk about slow hospitals, I have the greatest respect for nurses and doctors. I'm sure they're all doing everything they can and they've done a fantastic job," Cuomo clarified Tuesday. "It's the leadership that I'm talking about."

The governor made a series of comparisons to other situations where leadership bore responsibility for failures.

"The nation is at war and the Army keeps losing. President calls and fires the general. It's not a comment on the soldiers. The soldiers are killing themselves. The general gets fired," Cuomo continued. "End of the losing football season, it's the coach that gets fired. It's about the leadership, so it's nothing about the nurses and the doctors. It's about the leadership, it’s about the management. It always is and that's taking responsibility and accountability."

"It's about the leadership, it’s about the management. It always is and that's taking responsibility and accountability."

— New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

But others have pointed to Cuomo as the one who is ultimately leading the state through the vaccination process and through the overall pandemic response.

"The Cuomo handling of the vaccine is blithering incompetence," Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin told the New York Post.

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In a Twitter thread, New York Assemblyman-elect Mike Lawler claimed Cuomo was responsible because he was in control of the pandemic response from the beginning.

"It’s very simple: @NYGovCuomo asked for and was given complete control of the pandemic response back in March of last year," Lawler tweeted Tuesday. "He therefore is completely responsible for the consequences of his decisions: nursing home deaths and the failed vaccine distribution.

"That he continues to pass the buck to others, including the hospitals, is as jarring as it is arrogant," Lawler continued.

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Cuomo's office reacted sternly to Lawler, who first takes office Wednesday.

"The Assemblymember-Elect must have been too busy tweeting during new member orientation, because if he had paid attention, he’d know that any of the Governor’s actions during this emergency could be overturned by a simple majority vote of the legislature," administration spokesman Jack Sterne said in a statement to Fox News. 

"I know it’s easy to take cheap shots from the cheap seats, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that New York was ambushed by the virus in the spring due to Donald Trump’s incompetence – and while this former political operative whose candidate lost to the Governor has been busy on social media, Governor Cuomo has been on the frontlines fighting this pandemic. Despite federal failures on everything from testing to vaccine distribution, the Governor’s actions have unequivocally saved lives."