A general manager at a San Jose hospital will be disciplined for his role in presenting the coronavirus vaccine to teachers before they are eligible.
Provincial officials last week cut off the vaccine supply from Good Samaritan Hospital after learning that teachers from a nearby school district were allowed to join the line, which was to include only health workers and senior citizens.
Spokeswoman Sarah Sherwood said chief operating officer Gary Purushotham was still employed by the hospital reviewing the incident.
Sherwood would not specify the discipline, referring to privacy laws for staff.
An email to the staff of the Los Gatos Union School District of Supt. Paul Johnson said last week that Good Samaritan’s “chief operating officer” had approved the vaccination arrangement.
In the email, obtained by the San Jose Spotlight, Johnson urged school staff to immediately plan the vaccination at Good Samaritan by reporting online “under the healthcare buttons”.
At the start of the pandemic, school officials raised money to feed workers in two hospitals, including the Good Samaritan, Johnson noted.
Johnson said he had received a message the night before that he wanted to offer us good vaccines [LGUSD] staff. ”
“They mentioned that our kindness was not forgotten last year and how much they appreciate it,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson later made it clear in a letter posted on the district’s Facebook page that the characterization of the Good Samaritan giving back a good deed is his own.
He apologized for the characterization and said he understood why people were worried about the aborted vaccination program.
At a news conference on Monday, James R. Williams, a Santa Clara County attorney, described Good Samaritan’s actions as “very worrying.”
The hospital appears to be ‘reaching out to a specific district’ based on the prevalence of ‘meals provided’, rather than for all school districts.
California officials prefer vaccinations to health care workers, people living or working in long-term care facilities, and 65-year-olds. Due to the scarcity of the vaccine, Santa Clara County restricted the senior citizen group to 75 years and older.
On January 12, Good Samaritan said it only supplies vaccines to eligible health workers.
A week later, it appears that the hospital ‘affirmatively’ suggests that school district employees commit perjury by ‘registering themselves as if they were health workers’, Williams said.
The hospital said in a statement that it had accidentally increased the allocation of teachers and child care workers to avoid doses that had already been thawed.
Williams, however, said the school district’s understanding of the situation “is not related to wastage.”
Provincial officials have said they will give Good Samaritan enough vaccine to help people complete their second doses.
But the hospital will not receive any additional vaccine until it provides ‘adequate insurance’ and a concrete plan to follow the guidelines of the state and the country.