Local leaders are weighing in on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's request to buy COVID-19 vaccine doses directly from Pfizer.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has to approve it first. It has not made any decision, and it's unlikely there will be a deal.

A member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID Advisory Board said Tuesday that it's not a good idea, and that it would pit states against each other.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day also sent a letter to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in the hope that New York state could strike a deal with the pharmaceutical company.

It asks for a guarantee that a fair number of doses be given to Rockland County.

"If an opportunity presents itself for Rockland County to be taken care of…as a county executive, I'm looking out for the people here," says Day.

Day says Rockland has been underserved by the state.

"Rockland County has 10% of its population infected. Rockland County is No. 2 in fatality rates per 10,000 in the state of New York, and whether it be by county or whether it be by population, we should be getting a lot more vaccine than we've been getting," says Day.

Day and Westchester County Executive George Latimer, although on opposite sides of the political aisle, agree that these private deals shouldn't be necessary.

"The basic fact is the federal government as of this moment has failed in being able to have a national vaccine distribution plan. They were too busy worrying about other things," says Latimer.

Pfizer says it needs approval based on the emergency use authorization granted by the FDA.

News 12 looked over the formal authorization letter and there is one line that says, "Pfizer and authorized distributors will ensure that the authorized Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is distributed, as directed by the U.S. government."