The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) confirmed to the investigating unit on Wednesday that the allocation of COVID-19 vaccines to One Medical, one of its key partners in the city’s vaccination plan, had not been stopped.
One Medical is a membership-based healthcare practice – anyone can join. Following a partnership with SFDPH, he said it was administering vaccines to its own participants and members of the public who were referred by the province as a temporary member of One Medical.
Prior to receiving this information, the research unit received reports from people who pay the standard membership fee of $ 200 just to take advantage of One Medical’s easy-to-discuss vaccination system. In some cases, the individuals said they did not live in San Francisco. Some said they already have other healthcare providers.
The San Francisco move comes the same day that NPR announced an investigation and said the ‘high-medical provider’ administered COVID-19 vaccines to ineligible people … including people with ties with industry leaders and customers of its medical service. ‘
In an email to the investigation unit, SFDPH on Monday said One Medical must return 270 vials of the Pfizer vaccine with 1620 doses so that the country can distribute it again to other providers. This comes after the province ordered One Medical to fully record the vaccines administered.
After reviewing the country’s response, the country said the organization had vaccinated people who ‘younger than 65 who identified themselves as Phase 1a health workers but were not IHSS workers, DPH referrals or one medical associate. ”
‘Due to this and our inability to verify the 1a status of this group, DPH stopped allocating doses to One Medical, ” wrote a provincial spokesman.
In an interview earlier Wednesday about the challenges facing One Medical and other providers as they try to enforce vaccine requirements for vaccine, Chief Medical Officer Andrew Diamond said there are concerns about overhaul.
‘There are a lot of people who need the most urgent vaccination and really do not have the first idea how to upload something. [for verification] “and by being too focused on the requirement, we run the risk of vaccinating far fewer people than we really need at this point in time,” Dr. Diamond said.
A spokesperson for One Medical wrote in a statement late Wednesday: “Those who vaccinated us within the unspecified ‘number’ of doses of the SFDPH, specifically testified that they are eligible for health workers … We have permission from the SFDPH had to inoculate this group and was transparent with SF DPH about our process and protocols for doing so. “
One medical drug was allowed to retain enough doses to give people who had their first dose second shots, the country said. The SF-based provider said it hopes to continue offering vaccination services.
Candice Nguyen is an investigative reporter at the NBC Bay Area Investigation Unit. Email her about this story or others to [email protected].