Long after the COVID threat has receded, New York taxpayers are still burning $200,000 a month to maintain the Excelsior App — the Cuomo-era state vaccine passport that nobody uses and never needed.
The Times Union reported this week that the cost of the seldom-used vax app has skyrocketed to $64 million from its initial $2.5 million debut in 2021.
At best, it was a way for inoculated New Yorkers to access restaurants and live events.
But carrying around your vaccination card worked at least as well — and the app didn’t even register your shots from a drug store or other “third party,” only from city- or state-run sites.
Why keep pouring cash down the drain?
The Hochul administration insists the app can be developed for purposes beyond showing vaccinations no one has to take. --->READ MORE HERE
The pandemic may be officially over but New York is still paying an eye-raising fee of $200,000 per month to maintain a state vaccine passport that nobody uses.
The Excelsior App was supposed to cost New York a mere $2.5 million when it debuted in the spring of 2021 as a way for New Yorkers to show their COVID-19 vaccinations as the state lifted pandemic restrictions on restaurants and live event venues.
But costs since then have ballooned to $64 million, the Albany Times Union reported Sunday.
“The original idea was definitely worth exploring,” Bill Hammond, senior fellow for health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy, said.
“What seems to be happening is a bonafide crisis opened the door to spending a lot of money off the radar without the usual checks and balances, without the usual oversight of the comptroller.”
Costs for the Excelsior app grew after state officials outsourced much of its development, which they say will allow the platform to serve purposes beyond showing vaccinations, though concrete plans for future applications have yet to be announced. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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