Queens councilman: Nursing home denied patients COVID-19 vaccine

NEW YORK - City councilman Robert Holden says the Queens nursing home his mother, Anne, resided at, denied her a potentially life-saving COVID-19 vaccine last month. Now, she’s sick with the virus and being monitored at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

"She eventually did get the vaccine a week ago but it was obviously too late," Holden told FOX 5 NY.

The Dry Harbor nursing home in Middle Village claimed to be following state policy by prioritizing its long-term residents, but a spokesperson for the NY State Dept. of Health told us in a statement: "There’s no state policy prioritizing long-term nursing home residents over other residents."

Anne Holden was only admitted to the facility several months ago as a rehabilitation patient to recover from a bad fall.

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"It’s very frustrating to get this far, and then not get the vaccine when it was available in December because she wasn’t a permanent resident of that facility. I was outraged," Holden added.

According to Dry Harbor’s website, 44 patients and 11 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 since late December.

The nursing home has halted all visitations, but our attempts to reach the facility have gone unanswered.

A doctor who treats Anne Holden and other patients there told the New York Post he couldn’t confirm whether or not she would have avoided catching the virus even if she had gotten an earlier vaccination.

In the meantime, state health officials say the facility has reported that it has enough PPE on hand to battle the virus and that it continues to test all residents and staff.

They have also been in communication with the leadership at Dry Harbor and say they will continue to monitor the current outbreak.