Vaccine distribution and prioritization (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

Your request has been emailed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) because that agency is not yet using
the portal to respond to FOIL requests. The details of your request are shown below.
No further information will be available on the OpenRecords portal regarding this
request.

Request Title: Vaccine distribution and prioritization (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

Request Description: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

The CDC ordered every jurisdiction to create a coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, and jurisdictions are currently executing the vaccine rollout nationwide:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/covid19-vaccination-guidance.html
Therefore, I request the following information:
- Any and all correspondence between this agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccine priority, including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos, about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans.
- Any and all correspondence between this agency and stakeholders (including private companies and their representatives and their attorneys, nonprofit groups, advisory committees, elected officials, and state health officials) including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans
- Any documents about or referring to algorithms, computer programs, partnerships, or software that will be used to help determine vaccine priority and distribution
- Any presentations, pdfs, or legal analyses about vaccine priority and distribution
- Any communication with law enforcement (state, local, or national) about vaccine priority and distribution plan
Please search from October 1, 2020 until the day this request is processed.
This request is being made for use on VICE News. It is not for commercial purposes.

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,

Emma Ockerman

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/


Requester's Contact Information



Name:
Emma Ockerman

Title:
Not provided

Organization:
Not provided

Email:
requests@muckrock.com (mailto:requests@muckrock.com)

Phone Number:
Not provided

Fax Number:
Not provided

Street Address (line 1):
Not provided

Street Address (line 2):
Not provided

City:
Not provided

State:
Not provided

Zip Code:
Not provided

Please contact the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) via email at foil@health.nyc.gov
for any further information. (mailto:foil@health.nyc.gov)

FOIL Control #: 2021FR00351

Ms. Ockerman,

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Law request. It has been assigned the above-noted control number and has been pocessing. You should receive a response within twenty(20) business days. Please note that as of January 1, 2019, the Department will be charging the statutorily allowable fee of 25¢ per page for FOIL responses.

All inquiries about the status of your request should be made with control number noted above.

Thank you,

FOIL Administration(sb)

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

347-396-6011 (ph.)

347-396-6087 (f)

recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov<mailto:recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov>

From: Bernadette O'Donnell <bodonnell1@health.nyc.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 5:23 PM
To: recordsaccess <recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Vaccine distribution and prioritization (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

Thanks- the control No. is 2021FR00351.

Based on the size and scope of this request and the backlog of FOIL requests that this agency is responding to, DOHMH will need additional time to respond to this request. We anticipate that you will receive a response to this request on February 25, 2022.

FOIL Administration

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

347-396-6011 (ph.)

347-396-6087 (f)

recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov<mailto:recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov>

________________________________

From: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com> <requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>>
Sent: Thursday, January 6, 2022 10:35 AM
To: FOIL <FOIL@health.nyc.gov<mailto:FOIL@health.nyc.gov>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Vaccine distribution and prioritization (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

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CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Forward suspect email to phish@cyber.nyc.gov<mailto:phish@cyber.nyc.gov> as an attachment (Click the More button, then forward as attachment).

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
FOIL Office
Floor 14th, CN31
42-09 28th Street
Long Island City, NY 11101

January 6, 2022

This is a follow up to a previous request:

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 Feb. 3, 2021. 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.

View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/

If prompted for a passcode, please enter:
••••••••

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 107769
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

---

On Feb. 12, 2021:
Subject: FOIL Control #: 2021FR00351_Re: [OpenRecords] FOIL Request Submitted to Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
FOIL Control #: 2021FR00351

Ms. Ockerman,

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Law request. It has been assigned the above-noted control number and has been pocessing. You should receive a response within twenty(20) business days. Please note that as of January 1, 2019, the Department will be charging the statutorily allowable fee of 25¢ per page for FOIL responses.

All inquiries about the status of your request should be made with control number noted above.

Thank you,

FOIL Administration(sb)

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

347-396-6011 (ph.)

347-396-6087 (f)

recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov<mailto:recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov<mailto:recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov%3cmailto:recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov>>
---

On Feb. 3, 2021:
Subject: [OpenRecords] FOIL Request Submitted to Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
Your request has been emailed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) because that agency is not yet using
the portal to respond to FOIL requests. The details of your request are shown below.
No further information will be available on the OpenRecords portal regarding this
request.

Request Title: Vaccine distribution and prioritization (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

Request Description: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

The CDC ordered every jurisdiction to create a coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, and jurisdictions are currently executing the vaccine rollout nationwide:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/covid19-vaccination-guidance.html
Therefore, I request the following information:
- Any and all correspondence between this agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccine priority, including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos, about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans.
- Any and all correspondence between this agency and stakeholders (including private companies and their representatives and their attorneys, nonprofit groups, advisory committees, elected officials, and state health officials) including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans
- Any documents about or referring to algorithms, computer programs, partnerships, or software that will be used to help determine vaccine priority and distribution
- Any presentations, pdfs, or legal analyses about vaccine priority and distribution
- Any communication with law enforcement (state, local, or national) about vaccine priority and distribution plan
Please search from October 1, 2020 until the day this request is processed.
This request is being made for use on VICE News. It is not for commercial purposes.

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,

Emma Ockerman

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

Requester's Contact Information

Name:
Emma Ockerman

Title:
Not provided

Organization:
Not provided

Email:
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com> (mailto:requests@muckrock.com)

Phone Number:
Not provided

Fax Number:
Not provided

Street Address (line 1):
Not provided

Street Address (line 2):
Not provided

City:
Not provided

State:
Not provided

Zip Code:
Not provided

Please contact the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) via email at foil@health.nyc.gov<mailto:foil@health.nyc.gov>
for any further information. (mailto:foil@health.nyc.gov)
---

On Feb. 3, 2021:
Subject: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Vaccine distribution and prioritization (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

The CDC ordered every jurisdiction to create a coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, and jurisdictions are currently executing the vaccine rollout nationwide:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/covid19-vaccination-guidance.html
Therefore, I request the following information:
- Any and all correspondence between this agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccine priority, including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos, about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans.
- Any and all correspondence between this agency and stakeholders (including private companies and their representatives and their attorneys, nonprofit groups, advisory committees, elected officials, and state health officials) including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans
- Any documents about or referring to algorithms, computer programs, partnerships, or software that will be used to help determine vaccine priority and distribution
- Any presentations, pdfs, or legal analyses about vaccine priority and distribution
- Any communication with law enforcement (state, local, or national) about vaccine priority and distribution plan
Please search from October 1, 2020 until the day this request is processed.
This request is being made for use on VICE News. It is not for commercial purposes.

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,

Emma Ockerman

View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/

If prompted for a passcode, please enter:
••••••••

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 107769
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

Sent from the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. This email and any files transmitted with it may contain confidential information and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses.

Dear Ms. Ockerman:

DOHMH needs additional time to respond to your FOIL request with the above-referenced control number as it continues to work through a backlog of requests. I anticipate that you will receive a response to this request by April 6, 2022.

I apologize for these repeated delays.

Sincerely,

Bernadette O'Donnell
Records Access Officer / Agency Attorney
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
42-09 28th St., CN 14-29
Long Island City, NY 11101

Sent from the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. This email and any files transmitted with it may contain confidential information and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses.

Dear Ms. Ockerman:

I write with respect to your Freedom of Information Law request with the above-referenced control number. I apologize for this extended delay.

Please note that some of the records which are responsive to your request are publicly available. Please see the attached two documents, the agency's "COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Strategy" and the "Overview of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's COVID-19 Equity Action Plan."

DOHMH responds to the remainder of your request as follows:

Any and all correspondence between this agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccine priority, including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos, about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans.
DOHMH denies this part of your FOIL request. Your request does not reasonably describe the records you seek, as is required by FOIL §89(3)(a). Moreover, a search for records responsive to this part of your request in the agency's e-discovery tool resulted in over 75 GB of data. Industry estimates provide that 1 GB of data could contain anywhere from 15,000- 677,000 pages. DOHMH cannot respond to your request without manually reviewing each of these records to determine whether all or part of the record qualifies for exemption from release under FOIL. FOIL §89(3)(a) limits the burden on agencies to extract records from a computer storage system only if doing so would require "reasonable effort," and the effort required to respond to your request is unreasonable. As the New York Committee on Open Government has opined, "it would be an unreasonable burden... to review perhaps thousands of individual records in order to identify those portions of such records that are required to be made available." FOIL-A0-18949 (August 20, 2012).

Any and all correspondence between this agency and stakeholders (including private companies and their representatives and their attorneys, nonprofit groups, advisory committees, elected officials, and state health officials) including emails, presentations, recordings, photographs, and memos about vaccine distribution and prioritization plans
DOHMH denies this part of your request. This part of your request does not reasonably describe the records you seek, as is required by FOIL §89(3)(a). Without the names and the domains of the stakeholders you are referring to, I am unable to conduct a search for records which may be responsive to your request.

Any documents about or referring to algorithms, computer programs, partnerships, or software that will be used to help determine vaccine priority and distribution
DOHMH does not possess records which are responsive to this part of your request.

Any presentations, pdfs, or legal analyses about vaccine priority and distribution
Records responsive to this part of your request have been made publicly available. Please see above. Other records responsive to this part of your request are exempt from disclosure pursuant to FOIL's inter/intra agency exemption. FOIL §87(2)(g).

Any communication with law enforcement (state, local, or national) about vaccine priority and distribution
DOHMH denies this part of your request. This part of your request does not reasonably describe the records you seek, as is required by FOIL §89(3)(a). Without the names and domains of the law enforcement agencies you are referring to, I am unable to conduct a search for records which may be responsive to your request.

You may file a written appeal of this determination within 30 days of the date of this message. The appeal should be addressed to:
Chari Anhouse, Esquire
Appeals Officer & Associate General Counsel
Email: recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov<mailto:recordsaccess@health.nyc.gov>

The notice of appeal should include the request control number, the date of this message, a description of the records that were the subject of the request, the specific legal grounds for your appeal, and the full name and email address of the original requester.

Sincerely,

Bernadette O'Donnell
Records Access Officer / Associate General Counsel
Office of the General Counsel
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - City of New York
42-09 28th St., Long Island City, NY 11101
Email: bodonnell1@health.nyc.gov<mailto:bodonnell1@health.nyc.gov> | nyc.gov/health<https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/index.page>

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