While millions of Americans are waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine, hospital board members, their administrators and donors across the country have had early access to scarce drugs or vaccination offerings, raising complaints about the favoritism that contaminates decisions about who is inoculated and when.
In Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter Neronha opened an investigation after reporting that two hospital systems offered vaccines to board members. Washington Governor Jay Inslee rebuked a hospital system in the Seattle area after offering COVID-19 vaccination appointments to major donors. And in Kansas, members of a hospital board received vaccines during the first phase of the state’s deployment, aimed at people at higher risk of infection.
Hospitals in Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia have also faced issues about vaccine distribution, including donors, administrators, and relatives of executives.
Disclosures could threaten public confidence in a national deployment already marked by the shortage of vaccines, appointment logjams, and incompatible rules set to determine who is eligible.
“We want people to be vaccinated according to priority, not privilege,” Inslee spokesman Mike Faulk said. “Everyone deserves a fair chance to get vaccinated.”
According to federal government leadership, states have established tiered distribution pipelines designed first to protect essential and most at-risk workers, including older Americans. In California, for example, medical workers, first aiders, residential residents, and those over 65 are at the helm of the line to collect the desired shots.
In some cases, it is unclear whether the rules were violated when people who did not belong to priority groups were vaccinated. Guidelines vary by state and hospitals may have leeway to make decisions. In California, providers have more leeway to make sure they don’t waste the hard-to-get vaccine in cases where waste can be corrected.
In Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter Neronha initiated an investigation in two hospital systems after The Providence Journal reported this month that some board members of the Lifespan and Care New England hospital systems had been offered vaccines.
In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Neronha said the report, if true, raised questions about whether the vaccine was properly distributed.
“We all know that the stakes are high. People are frustrated, they are afraid, ”said Neronha. “Given the lack of supply here, every dose is critical.”
Care New England spokeswoman Raina Smith said in an email statement that administrators would cooperate with the investigation. Lifelong spokeswoman Kathleen Hart emailed a statement saying the hospital system had followed directions from Rhode Island health officials and had recently received permission to vaccinate low-risk employers and volunteers. , “including board members, who belong to the category of volunteers.”
The Seattle Times reported that Overlake Medical Center & Clinics emailed about 110 donors who donated more than $ 10,000 to the hospital system, telling them there were vaccine spaces available. Email provided donors with an access code to register for invitations by invitation only.
At the same time, Overlake’s public registration site was fully completed by March. The chief medical officer of operations said the invitation was a quick fix after the hospital’s scheduling system failed. Overlake closed online access to the clinic for invitations only after receiving a call from Inslee staff and CEO J. Michael Marsh apologized.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called on the state to revalue its vaccine policy to make sure the most vulnerable, especially those of color, are prioritized. He had to ban hospital donors, he said.
“We have an obligation to ensure that our fight against the pandemic does not exacerbate inequalities,” he said.
Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, said it’s no surprise that hospitals equipped with vaccines to inoculate their workers interpreted the guidelines broadly and included those that they do not work directly with patients, such as computer technicians.
But giving hospital board members early access to the vaccine, regardless of the hospital’s justification, only undermines public confidence that the shots are evenly distributed, Caplan said.
“It’s a reminder that if you’re rich, well connected and know how to work the system, you can get access that others can’t,” Caplan said. “Here it is, in the face, when it comes to vaccinations.”
Fred Naranjo, owner of a San Francisco insurance company and board member and chairman of the finance committee at St. Rose in Hayward, California, received a first vaccine before Christmas along with first aid and front-line medical workers.
Naranjo told KNTV-TV he did not seek special treatment ahead of others. He said he is often in the hospital “walking down the aisles, talking to people” and wanted to serve as a model for other people in the Hispanic community to get vaccinated.
“The main thing I wanted to do is show people to get the vaccine and not be afraid,” Naranjo said. “It simply came to our notice then. We need to protect them. “
Hospital spokesman Sam Singer said Naranjo was the only board member who received a vaccine because he visits the hospital weekly to meet with doctors, nurses and patients.
In Kansas, members of Stormont Vail Health’s board, along with its fundraising board, received vaccines during the first phase of the program, which focused on residences and health workers. Spokesman Matt Lara said workers received first shots and board members received them because they govern the hospital and its day-to-day operations.
In Santa Clara County, southeastern San Francisco, health officials are retaining COVID-19 vaccines from a hospital after offering the vaccine to about 65 teachers and staff in a wealthy Silicon Valley school district. skipping people over 65 and health care workers. .
Teachers and staff from the Los Gatos Union School District last week received an email from Superintendent Paul Johnson offering vaccines ahead of schedule. In the email, it was first reported for the San Jose Spotlight newspaper, Johnson said the hospital’s offer was made in gratitude because the district raised funds for 3,500 meals for front-line workers at Good Samaritan Hospital and another facility. .
Teachers, in the email, were instructed to impersonate health workers despite the threat of perjury to gain access to the vaccine. Good Samaritan CEO Joe DeSchryver said in a statement Tuesday that all appointments for a vaccine for people who are not health workers or over the age of 65 have been canceled.
“We regret the mistake we made in our efforts to use all vaccines before the expiration,” he wrote.
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Associated Press writer Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show that Fred Naranjo is a board member and chairman of the finance committee at St. John’s Hospital. Rose, not chairman of the board.