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Q&A
Council Member Schulman questions DOHMH on vaccine programs and potential federal funding cuts
3:16:40
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126 sec
Council Member Lynn Schulman engages in a Q&A session with DOHMH officials, primarily Acting Commissioner Michelle Morse, about vaccine-related programs and concerns over potential federal funding cuts. The discussion covers contingency plans, staffing, university partnerships, and communication with vaccine providers.
- DOHMH reveals a $40 million budget for the bureau managing vaccination and immunization work
- The Bureau of Immunization is reported to have about 100 staff members
- DOHMH confirms regular communication with vaccine providers and the New York State Health Department regarding future plans for vaccines
Lynn Schulman
3:16:40
There has been rhetoric from the federal government criticizing certain vaccines and threatening cuts to vaccine research and distribution.
3:16:48
Is there a contingency plan around that or is that the conversation we basically just had?
Michelle Morse
3:16:53
Okay.
3:16:55
All evolving and certainly we are doing some contingency planning.
Lynn Schulman
3:16:59
What is DOHMH's total headcount related to vaccines?
Michelle Morse
3:17:04
Thanks for that question.
3:17:05
So the bureau that manages all of our vaccination and immunization work, the total budget is $40,000,000 for that bureau and the head count is,
Linda Lee
3:17:16
I don't know off the top of my head,
Michelle Morse
3:17:17
we will get back to you on the head count, the exact head count.
Lynn Schulman
3:17:20
I asked about the pharmaceutical companies, I also have a question here, are there any universities that you're also in touch with around this?
Michelle Morse
3:17:28
We are always in touch with lots of universities and academic institutions looking at kind of evaluating the impact of our programs and evaluating ways to improve vaccination and things like that.
3:17:40
We are not specifically focused on, I'm not sure if you're talking about grants or funding with universities, we certainly Research.
3:17:48
Yes.
3:17:49
We certainly work very closely with many universities on a lot of different research questions, yes.
3:17:54
Immunization and beyond.
Lynn Schulman
3:17:55
Because you have, because Healthy NYC I know you have the committee and know, and your partners and all that stuff and that's maybe something to pull them together and talk to them about as well.
3:18:09
Because I know that that's something, I'm sure that's something that's important to
Michelle Morse
3:18:11
them particularly the hospitals and all of that.
3:18:15
We do regularly convene all the different providers who give vaccines across the city and we track very closely what they're doing through our CIR system.
3:18:25
So we are in regular contact with them.
3:18:28
We are also in very regular contact with the New York State Health Department who we also see as a critical partner in figuring out what the path forward looks like for vaccines.
Gale A. Brewer
3:18:40
Okay.
3:18:40
And just to
Aaron Anderson
3:18:41
add on the head count, so the Bureau of Immunization has about 100 staff.
Lynn Schulman
3:18:44
A hundred staff?
3:18:45
Okay.
3:18:45
Thank you.