Three counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have suspended the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to One Medical’s offices after the private health care provider allowed ineligible people to queue to get vaccines. the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.
According to the Chronicle, the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda have stopped sending doses of vaccines to One Medical and are looking for the return of more than 1,600 doses. NBC Bay Area later confirmed the report.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health investigated complaints that the company gave vaccines to people who did not meet the state’s initial eligibility criteria, according to the report, and the company’s response indicated that, indeed, s ‘had not vaccinated the ineligible people before their time.
California only vaccinates people over the age of 65, as well as health care workers and other essential workers. Early supply shortages forced some local health agencies to limit vaccines to those over 75 or to health workers.
In a letter to One Medical executives, the San Francisco health department demanded the return of 1,600 doses of vaccine immediately because they were unable to verify the eligibility of some vaccine recipients. The doses had been reserved for “other uses,” the letter said, which had not been authorized by the health department. The company was allowed to maintain enough doses to provide second shots to those who had already received a shot.
San Mateo and Alameda County officials also found discrepancies, the Chronicle reported, and also cut their allocations.
NPR reported Wednesday earlier that One Medical was busting local regulations by allowing people to cut the vaccination line in several states, including employees who did not deal with the public. Forbes reported similar claims earlier this month.
In a statement to MarketWatch, One Medical said: “Any claim that we generally and knowingly ignore eligibility guidelines is in direct contradiction to our actual approach to vaccine administration.
“Recent media reports on One Medical perpetuate misconceptions about dangerous public concepts about our COVID-19 vaccine protocols and, most importantly, have challenged our company’s values in our efforts to collaborate with health officials. across the country to administer COVID-19 vaccines.Although this type of information is discouraging for members of our team who have worked tirelessly nights and weekends to deal with the complexity and challenges of implementing the vaccine, we remain committed to serving our communities and we hope this report does not impede our ability to continue to do this vital work, ”the company said, adding that 96% of those who have been vaccinated had eligibility documentation , and the other 4% “were vaccinated according to zero waste protocols.”
One Medical is a healthcare clinic with offices in 12 major markets and works with more than 7,000 companies. In November, One Medical reported that it had more than 511,000 members.
Shares of parent company One Medical 1Life Healthcare Inc. ONEM,
fell more than 4% on Wednesday. After going public in January 2020, its shares increased 126% in the last twelve months, compared to the S&P 500 SPX,
26% gain.