COVID vaccines: Hospitals accused of allowing board members and donors to skip vaccine lines

SEATTLE, Washington – As millions of Americans wait for the COVID-19 vaccine, hospital board members, their administrators, and donors across the country have gained early access to the rare drug or offers vaccinations, raising complaints of favoritism in decisions about who is inoculated and when.

In Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter Neronha opened an investigation after reporting that two hospital systems were offering vaccinations to members of their board of directors. A Seattle-area hospital system has been reprimanded by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee after offering COVID-19 vaccination appointments to major donors. And in Kansas, members of a hospital board received vaccinations during the first phase of the state’s deployment, which was intended for people at greater risk of infection.

Hospitals in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia have also faced questions about vaccine distribution, including to donors, administrators and relatives of executives.

The revelations could threaten public confidence in a nationwide rollout already marred by vaccine shortages, blockages in appointments and inconsistent standards between states in determining who is eligible.

“We want people to be immunized on the basis of priority, not privilege,” Inslee spokesperson Mike Faulk said. “Everyone deserves a fair chance to get vaccinated.”

Under the leadership of the federal government, states have put in place multi-tiered distribution pipelines aimed primarily at protecting essential workers and those most at risk, including older Americans. In California, for example, medical workers, first responders, nursing home residents, and people 65 and older are on the front lines for the coveted shots.

In some cases, it is not clear whether the rules were broken when people not from priority groups were vaccinated. Guidelines vary from state to state, and hospitals may have leeway in making decisions. In California, providers have more leeway to ensure that they don’t waste the hard-to-obtain vaccine in cases where it might be wasted.

In Rhode Island, Attorney General Peter Neronha opened an investigation into two hospital systems after the Providence Journal reported this month that some members of the board of directors of the Lifespan and Care New England hospital systems had been vaccinated .

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Neronha said the report, if true, raised questions about whether the vaccine was being distributed appropriately.

“We all know the stakes are incredibly high. People are frustrated, they are scared,” Neronha said. “Given the lack of supply here, every dose is critical.”

Care New England spokeswoman Raina Smith said in a statement that directors would cooperate with the investigation. Lifespan spokeswoman Kathleen Hart emailed in a statement saying the hospital system had followed the advice of Rhode Island health officials and had recently been given permission to vaccinate employers and volunteers considered low risk, “including board members, who are in the volunteer category”.

The Seattle Times reported that the Overlake Medical Center & Clinics emailed about 110 donors who have donated more than $ 10,000 to the hospital system, telling them that vaccine slots are available. The email gave donors an access code to register for “invite-only” appointments.

At the same time, Overlake’s public registration site was full until March. The medical center’s operations manager said the invitation was a quick fix after the hospital’s planning system failed. Overlake shut down online access to the invite-only clinic after receiving a call from Inslee staff, and CEO J. Michael Marsh issued an apology.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called on the state to reassess its vaccine policy to ensure the most vulnerable, especially people of color, are given priority. Donors from hospitals should be banned, she said.

“We have an obligation to ensure that our fight against the pandemic does not exacerbate inequalities,” she said.

Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, said it was no surprise that hospitals with a vaccine to inoculate their workers interpret the guidelines as meaning broad and include those who do not work directly with patients, such as computer technicians.

But giving hospital board members early access to the vaccine, regardless of an individual hospital’s rationale, only undermines public confidence that vaccines are distributed fairly, has said Caplan.

“It’s a reminder that if you are rich, well connected, and know how to operate the system, you can get access that others cannot,” said Caplan. “Here she is, right in front of us, when it comes to vaccinations.”

Fred Naranjo, owner of a San Francisco insurance company and chairman of the board of directors of St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, Calif., Received his first vaccine before Christmas with first responders and medical staff from First line.

Naranjo told KNTV-TV that he doesn’t seek special treatment before others. He said he was often in the hospital “walking the halls, talking to people” and wanted to serve as a role model for other members of the Hispanic community to get vaccinated.

“The main thing I wanted to do is show people to get vaccinated and not to be afraid,” Naranjo said. “That’s for sure. They need to be protected.”

Hospital spokesman Sam Singer said Naranjo was the only council member to receive a vaccination, as he visits the hospital every week to meet with doctors, nurses and patients.

In Kansas, Stormont Vail Health board members, as well as its fundraising board, were vaccinated during the first phase of the program, which focused on nursing homes and healthcare workers. Spokesman Matt Lara said workers were shot first and board members received them because they governed the hospital and its day-to-day operations.

In Santa Clara County, California, southeast of San Francisco, health officials are withholding COVID-19 vaccines from a hospital after offering the vaccine to about 65 teachers and staff in a wealthy district school in Silicon Valley, avoiding people over 65 and healthcare workers. .

Teachers and staff at the Los Gatos Union School District received an email from Superintendent Paul Johnson last week offering vaccines ahead of schedule. In the email, first reported by the San Jose Spotlight outlet, Johnson said the hospital’s offer was made out of gratitude because the district raised funds for 3,500 meals intended frontline workers at Good Samaritan Hospital and another facility.

Teachers, in the email, were urged to pose as 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 vaccine appointments for people who are not healthcare workers or over 65 have been canceled.

“We regret the mistake we made in our efforts to use all vaccines before they expire,” he wrote.

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Associated Press writer Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.