STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1162 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 7, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT requiring New York state to develop and implement a plan for the distribution of a COVID-19 medical countermeasure in a manner that prioritizes those communities serving the most vulnerable residents of the state The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. (a) The New York State Department of Health, shall develop 2 and release to the public a plan for the equitable distribution of a 3 COVID-19 medical countermeasure to residents of the state. 4 (b) Such plan shall be released within sixty days following approval 5 of such a countermeasure by the United States Food and Drug Adminis- 6 tration. 7 (c) The plan shall be formulated and implemented in a manner that 8 prioritizes the distribution of the medical countermeasure to communi- 9 ties and facilities serving the New York residents deemed to be most 10 vulnerable to the immediate medical threat. The state shall identify 11 statewide and regional areas of greatest potential need during the 12 current COVID-19 pandemic. Factors to be taken into consideration shall 13 include, but not be limited to the following: 14 (i) rates of infection, severity of illness, hospital capacity, recov- 15 ery and mortality of patients in a community, with sensitivity to popu- 16 lation characteristics, including but not limited to, age, gender, 17 racial and/or ethnic background and income status of the members of the 18 community, to the extent that such factors instrumentally affect the 19 rates of infection, severity of illness, hospital capacity, recovery 20 and/or mortality during the current COVID-19 pandemic; and 21 (ii) the ability or inability of medical providers within a community 22 to purchase or otherwise obtain the medical countermeasure. 23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06233-01-1