The whole story on COVID: Gov. Hochul must push for a commission to review the pandemic – New York Daily News

Four years ago, when COVID was first smothering New York, the governor at the time and the mayor at the time set up 20 different committees and panels and task forces and working groups to deal with the unprecedented emergency that affected everything and which, as of last week, has claimed 83,352 lives.

Some of the assemblages never really got going, others wrote reports and recommendations, which may or may not have been read, but what New York needs now is a formal, legally established commission, with subpoena power granted by the Legislature, to prepare the definitive record of what happened and what went right and what went wrong.

Monday, Dr. Tony Fauci, who helped lead the federal COVID effort, appeared before a House committee to talk about COVID. While there was plenty of stupidity supplied from the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, the general concept of a look-back is welcome. As is the appearance of Andrew Cuomo before the committee next week to answer questions about what happened under his watch in New York, including the controversy about nursing homes in the harrowing first weeks and months.

Before the Legislature ends the 2024 session this week, lawmakers and Gov. Hochul should enact a state COVID-19 pandemic response study commission. The 16 members, half each appointed by the governor and the Legislature, would have the mandate to hold hearings and take testimony. After all the suffering, the heroism and the tragedies, New Yorkers should have this opportunity to speak out and be listened to.

The entirety of New Yorks response, from the availability of stockpiles of lifesaving medical equipment to lockdowns and restrictions to the operation of medical facilities and the vaccine program would be in the purview of the commission, which would prepare a draft report and final report.

How and when and why was the virus first spotted? Did the pre-existing syndromic surveillance systems of the city and state health departments work as intended? The medical, economic and social impact of COVID was profound, so the accounting must be complete.

The bill is being carried by Assembly Member Jessica Gonzlez-Rojas of Queens and state Sen. Julia Salazar of Brooklyn, who wrote in these pages last week:

Only a truly independent commission will ensure the assessment is objective and fact-based; only full subpoena power will ensure the findings are comprehensive and complete.

As elected officials, our constituents empowered us with the authority and responsibility to protect our communities and this includes protection from public health crises. If we allow the recent history of COVID-19 to go unexamined, we have failed to take every step possible to protect New Yorkers from similar tragedies in the future.

Hochul has already requested a review of New Yorks response to COVID by an outside firm, but the firm doesnt wield subpoena authority and lacks the power and credibility of a government commission, which is why she must push Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to pass this bill.

Before COVID, we couldnt have imagined that such a cataclysm could happen to the worlds greatest city and the state beyond. But it did happen and we need to prepare for the future. Gov. Hochul, make this happen.

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The whole story on COVID: Gov. Hochul must push for a commission to review the pandemic - New York Daily News