What are next steps in prepping NY for next pandemic? Bill eyes study

A new bill being debated in Albany would create a new state commission to study New York's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on better preparing for future outbreaks.

The bill, which has bipartisan support, emerged as Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration has yet to deliver results of a review of New York's pandemic response by an outside firm. That report was expected late last year, but remains outstanding and will cost $4.3 million in tax dollars.

Creating a state commission, however, would allow for the level of analysis that some public health experts and lawmakers believe is needed to ensure New Yorkers are better protected against a future pandemic. The stakes are clear as more than 1.1 million Americans have died due to COVID-19, including nearly 84,000 New Yorkers, federal data show.

What would NY COVID commission study?

Investigators would explore the COVID-19 response at all levels of government, including crucial policies that triggered societal lockdowns and remote schooling in attempts to contain the virus' spread earlier in the pandemic, according to the legislation.

Among the study targets: Health care and educational institutions, as well as hospitals, nursing homes, jails, congregate care settings and other secure facilities. The probe would also look into policies and practices relating to the workplace, which became a lighting rod for politically charged debates over mask and vaccination mandates.

Who would be on NY COVID commission?

The commission would have 16 voting members, including half appointed by the governor, who also gets to designate the chair of the commission. The president of the state Senate and speaker of the Assembly each appoint three members, while the respective minority leaders get one appointment each.

Some of the key powers of the commission would include access to state records and documents, including confidential materials, as well as the ability to issue subpoenas as part of its effort to interview witnesses, the bill notes.

Republican state lawmakers have also proposed a related bill, which seeks to establish a state commission to investigate how New York's COVID-19 response impacted nursing home deaths.

State policies linked to those facilities, including New York under-counting their COVID-19 death toll, were part of a series of pandemic-era scandals that culminated in the resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, amid sexual harassment allegations against him.

At the federal level, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would create a 9/11 Commission-style task force to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic.

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What has NY done to better prepare for pandemics?

In March, New York released the updated "pandemic annex" for the state emergency plan, which address the legal, political and logistical aspects of emergency management efforts.

The 65-page document includes sweeping instructions for handling an infectious disease, ranging from quickly responding to outbreaks in other countries to New York authorities culling specific species of animals that could spread viruses to humans.

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Many of the tactics deployed to contain COVID-19 remain in the state's pandemic playbook, ranging from travel bans and medical supply stockpiling to closing down businesses and schools. There are also guidelines related to everything from establishing overflow sites for treating the ill, such as the Naval hospital ship that arrived in New York City, to imposing mask mandates and "micro-cluster" restrictions.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY COVID response: Bill pushed to help prep for next pandemic