Stanford medics protest vaccination plan, saying frontline workers are at the back of the line

Doctors at Stanford Medical Center staged a loud protest on Friday, accusing the university of prioritizing bad health workers to receive coronavirus vaccines before residents and fellows who work directly with COVID-19 patients .

The scene in Palo Alto, which started indoors and then spread to the plaza in front of the facility, was quite noisy with protesters carrying signs saying, “Frontline workers need protection” and ” The heroes of health, behind the line. “

“I am here because we have been promised, on several occasions, that we will be vaccinated in the first wave,” said Dr Daniel Hernandez, an emergency room resident who was protesting. “They make us volunteer at the COVID ICU, with no extra pay on top of our own work.”

The crowd only calmed down when the hospital officials mobilized to address them. Stanford Health President and CEO David Entwhistle told the crowd, “We’re going to fix this. We know this is wrong.

Protesters had sent a letter to senior Stanford officials claiming only seven residents and fellows were included in the first round of vaccination, with 5,000 injections due to start on Friday. Protesters at the scene told The Chronicle that among those vaccinated were orthopedic surgeons, nurses treating outpatients and a dermatologist.

“There is still no articulated plan to vaccinate the remaining 1,300+ residents and fellows, including those on the front lines directly treating COVID-19 patients,” the letter said. “It is important for us to explain to you that at this time the residents are hurt, disappointed, frustrated, angry and feel a deep sense of mistrust of the administration of the hospital given the sacrifices we have made and the promises that were made. we.”

The letter also stated that many residents knew of senior teachers who had been working from home since the start of the pandemic, “without in-person patient responsibilities, who were selected for vaccination.”

Protesters allege that Stanford executives reported an error in an algorithm intended to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine to healthcare workers and older employees, but that the error was exposed on Tuesday and officials decided not to revise the allowance.

.@Stanford #doctors and #Health care workers are protesting Stanford’s decision to vaccinate orthopedists, dermatologists before front-line residents, fellows and nurses. pic.twitter.com/S3BxzWLTLi

– Nanette Asimov (@NanetteAsimov) December 18, 2020

“Residents and fellows were essentially not included in the first round of vaccines despite working more than 80 hours per week in the hospital to treat patients with COVID-19,” said Dr Earth Hasassari, a psychiatric doctor, in a Twitter post, joining a chorus of healthcare workers voicing similar complaints. Christine Santiago, an internal medicine resident, said: “The disparities in vaccine distribution can be seen at a micro-level at Stanford today. I am concerned that the situation we are seeing at Stanford is a harbinger of population inequalities in vaccine distribution to our underserved communities.

At the protest, another Stanford executive, Dr Larry Katznelson, told the crowd: “Management and department heads take a step back and make sure that none of us get so vaccinated. that you are not vaccinated.

Dr. Emma Squire, a pediatric resident at Stanford, said: “I think it’s a wonderful feeling. But that makes us lose confidence. I am cautiously optimistic. “

Stanford Health Care spokesperson Lisa Kim told The Chronicle: “Our intention was to roll out an ethical and fair plan for the whole organization, and there were flaws in this plan that we are actively working on. to fix. We should have more information later today. “

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Chronicle editor Aidin Vaziri contributed to this report.