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Los Gatos Union School District teachers and staff on Thursday received a tempting offer in their emails: a COVID-19 vaccine ahead of schedule.
According to the investigative newspaper San Jose Spotlight, the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Gatos offered the vaccine to District Superintendent Paul Johnson and staff as a “gesture” of kindness after the district raised funds for a program. restoration of frontline workers.
“Hospital COO says we can access appointments … and cleared [Los Gatos schools] staff to register under the health care buttons, ”reads a letter from Johnson to district staff. Educators are part of Phase 1B in California and Santa Clara County, behind front-line staff, nursing home residents, and people 65 and older.
Teachers, according to the email, have been asked to impersonate healthcare workers – with the approval of COO Gary Purushotham, despite the threat of perjury – in order to gain access to the vaccine. “Don’t forget to enroll in the health field initially,” Johnson’s note read.
The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
Today, Santa Clara County is withholding vaccines from the hospital after the supply was extended and 65 doses were given to teachers and district staff.
According to a county letter obtained by SFGATE, Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 vaccine manager, said the hospital’s actions “are inconsistent with the letter and spirit” of the California vaccination protocol . It also created confusion, he alleged, “causing other educators to understandably but incorrectly expect” vaccinations.
Santa Clara County will provide second doses for those who received their first injection at Good Samaritan. But “any further doses,” he warned, will be withheld “unless and until the Good Samaritan provides sufficient assurances, he will follow state and county guidelines on vaccine eligibility. “.
Good Samaritan currently has just over 6,500 first and second doses of the vaccine, according to a county scorecard.
Fenstersheib also suggested that the vaccine was offered as a reward, rewarding “employees of a school district who had provided fundraisers that helped Good Samaritan employees, rather than prioritizing older educators or those in areas of the county with a high prevalence of COVID. -19. “
(In a follow-up email to teachers obtained by Spotlight, Johnson, the superintendent, denied any allegation of matching.)
Joe DeSchryver, CEO of Good Samaritan, in an apology released Saturday in which he said the hospital was “in error,” explained that the decision to expand vaccine distribution beyond state and county recommendations had been taken in order to “avoid wasting reserves already thawed.”
But at that time, Spotlight reported, the hospital barely had enough doses for hospital workers, other front-line people, and people 75 and older.
“We are committed to working with the county on a plan to ensure clarity and adherence to state and county guidelines on vaccine eligibility, which we did before this incident,” added DeSchryver. “In addition, we are reviewing our processes and systems to ensure this does not happen again.”
The hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
California distributed more than 2.3 million vaccines – 47% of its currently available doses on Monday.
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