NYSDOH: COVID Vaccine Redistribution Communications
| Tracking # |
23-08-474 22-06-487 |
| Submitted | June 28, 2022 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Jackson Parker
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all emails to or from the following email address since 1/1/2018:
CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov
Including any attachments or related forms transmitted as attachments or embedded in responsive email messages.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jackson Parker
From: New York State Department of Health
Good afternoon -
Please see the attached correspondence regarding your Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
Corning Tower, Rm 2364
Albany, NY 12237
P: (518) 474-8734
F: (518) 486-9144
Email: foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
[state]
-
image001
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: New York State Department of Health
Dear Jackson Parker:
Attached please find the Department of Health's letter pertaining to the above-referenced request.
Thank you,
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
2364 Corning Tower, Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-8734 | foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: New York State Department of Health
Jackson Parker:
Attached please find the Department of Health's letter pertaining to the above-referenced request.
Thank you,
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
2364 Corning Tower, Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-8734 | foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: New York State Department of Health
Dear Jackson Parker,
The Department of Health is currently processing your request. We apologize for the delay. This Office receives 500 to 700 FOIL requests per month. In response to any FOIL request, this Office performs a diligent search for responsive documents. All potentially responsive records are reviewed for responsiveness, FOIL exemptions and legal privileges. This can be time-consuming. Please be assured we are processing your request as quickly and efficiently as possible. A response to your FOIL request will be forthcoming as soon as the process is complete.
Thank you for your patience.
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
2364 Corning Tower, Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-8734 | Fax (518) 486-9144
foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
-
image001
From: New York State Department of Health
Good Afternoon,
Attached you will find the NYS Department of Health's Extension letter for the above referenced matter.
Thank you
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
Corning Tower, Rm 2364
Albany, NY 12237
P: (518) 474-8734
F: (518) 486-9144
Email: foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: New York State Department of Health
Good Afternoon,
Attached you will find the NYS Department of Health's Extension letter for the above referenced matter.
Thank you
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
Corning Tower, Rm 2364
Albany, NY 12237
P: (518) 474-8734
F: (518) 486-9144
Email: foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 28, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Jackson Parker
I hereby appeal the summary denial of access regarding my request made on June 28, 2022 , which was rejected on the following dates:
July 27, 2022
September 29, 2022
December 5, 2022
December 7, 2022
February 14, 2023
Which was sent to:
Rosemarie Hewig, Records Access Officer
NYS Department of Health
Empire State Plaza
Corning Tower
Albany, NY 12237
From: New York State Department of Health
Dear Jackson Parker:
I write regarding the above-referenced FOIL, in which you requested "Any and all emails to or from the following email address since 1/1/2018: CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov<mailto:CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov>. Including any attachments or related forms transmitted as attachments or embedded in responsive email messages."
The Department of Health's program area is in the process of locating documents that may be responsive to your request. However, the Records Access Office needs to narrow the request to insure we provide any and all responsive materials because, as currently written, it has generated an enourmous volume of records. Can you please provide some additional ways to narrow your request, e.g., search terms, narrower scope, specific custoidans, etc?
This request is extremely broad at the moment - any clarification/specification would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
2364 Corning Tower, Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-8734 | foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
From: Jackson Parker
Thank you for your response to my FOIL request. I understand that the request may generate a large volume of emails and appreciate your efforts to locate the responsive records. To help streamline the process, I would like to request a sampling of emails related to my request.
I understand that a sampling may not include all of the emails related to my request, but it will provide me with a representative sample of the responsive records. The sampling should include a random selection of emails that are most likely to contain relevant and material content.
If possible, please provide me with a description of the sampling methodology that will be used, including the sample size and any criteria used to select the sample. Additionally, please let me know if there are any specific parameters or criteria I should consider when reviewing the sampling.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please let me know if you require any further information or have any questions.
From: New York State Department of Health
Good morning,
Our office cannot provide “a sample of emails.” Instead, please consider providing some or all of the following criteria to narrow the scope of your FOIL request:
* Search terms that must be part of the communications
* To/From specific custodians (email addresses) that must be part of the communications
* Narrower time frame
Thank you.
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
2364 Corning Tower, Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-8734 | Fax (518) 486-9144
foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
-
image001
From: Jackson Parker
Thank you for your email regarding my FOIL request for emails related to CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov. I appreciate your efforts to locate the responsive records and I would like to narrow the scope of my request as suggested.
To make the request more manageable and specific, I would like to request all emails and attachments sent to or from CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov during the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. I believe this will help to focus the search and reduce the volume of emails retrieved.
Additionally, I would like to request that the scope of responses be limited to all completed Notice of Redistribution of Vaccine Between Location forms and CDC Redistribution Agreements, and related communications.
Please let me know if this narrowed scope is feasible and if you require any additional information to fulfill my request. I understand that locating and providing the requested records may still require some time, but I would appreciate your response to this request as soon as possible.
From: New York State Department of Health
Dear Jackson Parker:
Attached please find the Department of Health's response to the above-referenced request.
Thank you,
Records Access Office
New York State Department of Health
2364 Corning Tower, Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-8734 | foil@health.ny.gov<mailto:foil@health.ny.gov>
From: New York State Department of Health
Please see attached.
David Spellman
FOIL Appeals Officer
From: Jackson Parker
I am writing to appeal the partial response to my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request of June 28, 2022, in which I requested "any and all emails to or from the following email address since 1/1/2018: CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov. Including any attachments or related forms transmitted as attachments or embedded in responsive email messages."
While I appreciate the effort that has gone into locating and providing some responsive records, the documents provided only constitute a small portion of the records that were likely processed during the requested timeframe. Additionally, certain documents have been withheld, but there is no information provided about the nature of these documents or why they were withheld.
I respectfully request that you provide more information about the documents that have been withheld and the basis for their withholding. Specifically, please provide the reason why disclosure of these documents "would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" under New York State Public Officers Law §87(2)(b), and the basis for withholding any documents as "inter-agency or intra-agency materials" under §87(2)(g).
Furthermore, I believe that there may be additional responsive records that were not provided in the partial response. In particular, an email within the provided documents mentions the existence of an electronic form to submit vaccine redistribution information. Therefore, I request that the scope of my original FOIL request be expanded to include any and all completed electronic Notice of Redistribution of Vaccine Between Location forms and CDC Redistribution Agreements, and related communications, for the same time period.
From: New York State Department of Health
Please see attached.
Thank you.
David Spellman
From: Jackson Parker
I am writing to appeal the response provided to my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request of 6/28/2022, in which I requested any and all emails to or from CovidVaccineRedistribution@health.ny.gov, including any attachments or related forms transmitted as attachments or embedded in responsive email messages, since 1/1/2018.
While I appreciate the efforts made by the Records Access Office (RAO) to respond to my request, I am concerned about the delays and gaps in the information provided. It has been over six months since my initial request, and the RAO's response only included a single email thread with one edge case that does not reflect the scope of my original request. I believe that this information is critical to my request, and I kindly request that the RAO conduct a thorough search for any and all responsive records related to this matter.
It is worth noting that the RAO in the current case has cited a high volume of FOIL requests as one of the reasons for the delay in responding to the request. While this may be a legitimate factor, it is also important for agencies to have adequate staffing and resources to handle FOIL requests in a timely manner. I respectfully request that the RAO make every effort to provide a comprehensive response without further delay.
Additionally, I noticed that some of the records provided have been redacted or withheld under New York State Public Officers Law §87(2)(b) and §87(2)(g). While I understand that certain information may be exempt from disclosure, I request that the RAO provide a more detailed explanation as to why these records were withheld and what specific information was redacted. Specifically, please provide the reason why disclosure of these records "would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" under §87(2)(b), and the basis for withholding any documents as "inter-agency or intra-agency materials" under §87(2)(g).
Lastly, I would like to clarify the scope of my original FOIL request. Specifically, I request that the RAO locate and provide any and all completed electronic Notice of Redistribution of Vaccine Between Location forms and CDC Redistribution Agreements, and related communications, for the same time period as my original request. I believe that this information is responsive to my original request and should have been included in the RAO's initial response.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response.
From: New York State Department of Health
None
From: New York State Department of Health
None
From: New York State Department of Health
None
From: New York State Department of Health
Please see attached.
Thank you.
David Spellman
From: New York State Department of Health
None
Files
pages