While millions of Americans are waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine, hospital board members, their trustees and donors across the country have gained early access to the scarce drug or vaccination offerings, which infect complaints about favoritism over who is vaccinated and when .
In Rhode Island, Atty. Gen. Peter Neronha investigated reports that two hospital systems had offered their board members vaccinations. A hospital system in Seattle has been reprimanded by the Washington government, Jay Inslee, after offering COVID-19 vaccinations to major donors. And in Kansas, members of a hospital board received vaccinations during the first phase of the state’s launch, which was intended for people at greater risk for infection.
Hospitals in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia have also faced questions about the distribution of vaccines, including to donors, trustees and family members of executives.
The revelations could threaten public confidence in a national explosion already marked by vaccines, appointment surveys and conflicting standards to determine who is eligible.
“We want people to be vaccinated based on priority, not privilege,” Inslee spokesman Mike Faulk said. “Everyone deserves a fair chance to be vaccinated.”
At the behest of the federal government, states have instituted drained distribution pipelines that are primarily aimed at protecting essential workers and those most at risk, including older Americans. In California, for example, medical workers, first responders, nursing home residents and people 65 and older are at the forefront of the coveted shots.
In some cases, it is not clear whether rules were violated when people outside priority groups received vaccinations. Guidelines differ according to state and hospitals can make decisions to decide. In California, suppliers have more room to make sure they are not wasting a difficult vaccine in cases where it could run the risk of spilling.
In Rhode Island, Neronha began an investigation into two hospital systems after the Providence Journal reported this month that some board members of the hospital systems Lifespan and Care New England had been offered vaccinations.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Friday, Neronha said the report, if true, raises questions about whether the vaccine is being distributed properly.
“We all know that the stakes are incredibly high. “People are frustrated, they are scared,” said Neronha. “Given the lack of supply here, every dose is critical.”
Carea, England’s spokesperson, Raina Smith, said in an email statement that administrators would cooperate in the investigation. “Lifespan spokeswoman Kathleen Hart emailed a statement saying the hospital system followed the lead of Rhode Island health officials and recently received approval to vaccinate low-risk employers and volunteers.” including board members, who fall into the category of volunteers. “
The Seattle Times reported that the Overlake Medical Center & Clinics emailed about 110 donors who donated more than $ 10,000 to the hospital system, saying vaccination slots were available. The email gave the donors an access code to register for appointments only ‘by invitation’.
At the same time, the overlake public registration site was full until March. The medical center’s chief operating officer said the invitation was an instant solution after the hospital’s schedule failed. Overlake closed online access to the invitation clinic after being called by Inslee’s staff, and CEO J. Michael Marsh apologized.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has called on the state to reevaluate its vaccine policy to make sure the most vulnerable, especially coloreds, are put first. Hospital donors should be banned, she said.
“We are committed to ensuring that our fight against the pandemic does not exacerbate inequality,” she said.
Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, said it is not surprising that hospitals that receive vaccines to vaccinate their workers will interpret guidance broadly and include those who do not work directly with patients. , such as computer technicians. But if members of hospital board members gain early access to the vaccine, regardless of the reasoning of a hospital, it only harms the public’s confidence that shots will be distributed fairly, Caplan said.
“It’s a reminder that if you’re rich, well connected and know how to operate the system, you can gain access to what others cannot do,” Caplan said. “Here it’s right in our face when it comes to vaccinations.”
Fred Naranjo, owner of an insurance company in San Francisco and chairman of the board in the St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, California, received a first vaccine shot before Christmas, along with first responders and medical workers at the front.
Naranjo told KNTV-TV he does not seek special treatment in front of others. He said he often ‘walks in the wards and talks to people’ in hospital and that he wants to serve as a role model for others in the Latino community to be vaccinated.
“The most important thing I wanted to do is show people to take the vaccine and not be afraid,” Naranjo said. ‘That it’s safe. They need to be protected. ”
Hospital spokesman Sam Singer said Naranjo was the only board member to receive a vaccination because he visits the hospital weekly to see doctors, nurses and patients.
In Kansas, members of the Stormont Vail Health Board along with its fundraising board received vaccinations during the first phase of the program, which focused on nursing homes and health care workers. Spokeswoman Matt Lara said workers first received shots, and councilors received them for controlling the hospital and its day-to-day operations.
In Santa Clara County, health officials are withholding COVID-19 vaccines from a hospital after it fired shots at about 65 teachers and staff members from a wealthy Silicon Valley school district, who skipped 65-year-olds and health care workers.
Los Gatos Union School District teachers and staff received an email from Supt this month. Paul Johnson offers vaccines ahead of schedule. In the email, first reported by the San Jose Spotlight, Johnson said the hospital’s offer was made in gratitude because the district raised funds for 3,500 meals donated to frontline workers in the Good Samaritan hospital and another facility go.
Teachers said in the email to mimic health workers despite the threat of perjury to gain access to the vaccine. Good Samaritan CEO Joe DeSchryver said in a statement last week that all vaccinations for vaccines for people who are not health workers or at least 65 years old have been canceled.
“We regret the mistake we made in our efforts to use all vaccines before the expiry,” he wrote.
Associated Press author Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.