Finally, Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci, and CNN no longer present New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo as the model governor in responding to pandemics. The question is now how many lives have been lost due to its reckless policy of forcing vulnerable populations to take a higher risk of infection – and then hide the results. Nursing homes weren’t the only places forced to take in Covid-positive patients.
Maria McFadden Maffucci writes National Review: “Cuomo’s edicts put another vulnerable population at inexcusable danger: New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who live in group homes.” Ms. Maffucci writes:
You know that infamous March 25th order to send infectious nursing home patients back from hospitals to their homes? Well it had a twin. On April 10th memo From the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to the operators of certified residential facilities, the language was identical to the nursing home’s memo: “No one may be denied re-admission or admission to a certified residential facility based solely on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of Covid- 19th . . . In addition, providers of certified residential facilities are prohibited from requesting the examination of a person in the hospital who is classified as medically stable [Covid-19] before admission or readmission. ”
Guess how that worked out for disabled New Yorkers. As is customary with Cuomo, the state government has withheld important information from the public. As a result, scientists and policy makers have had to try to understand limited data. Ms. Maffucci says researchers have often had to rely on voluntary reports from advocacy organizations.
The data available told another most troubling story. Last year, a study in the Disability and Health Journal titled “COVID-19 Results in People with Mental and Developmental Disabilities Living in Dormitories in New York State” reported some dire events statistics::
People with IDD living in dormitories were at higher risk for serious COVID-19 outcomes: Case Rates – 7,841 per 100,000 for people with IDD compared to 1,910 for New York State; Death – 15.0% for people with IDD compared to 7.9% for New York State; and death rate – 1,175 per 100,000 for people with IDD compared to 151 per 100,000 for New York State.
If the Cuomo government ever allows full accounting, researchers may be able to assess the exact impact of the policy on facilities on the admission of Covid-positive patients.
