Doctors revolt against rollout of Stanford’s ‘absurd’ vaccine

More than 100 medical workers at Stanford Medical Center staged a massive strike on Friday, accusing the institution of unfairly distributing its COVID-19 vaccine as the pandemic rages across California.

During the first week of coronavirus vaccination in the United States, resident doctors and Stanford fellows said they noticed experienced doctors who did not work directly with COVID-19 patients had already received vaccines, ahead of frontline health workers. Many of those vaccinated were working from home or were assigned to non-essential procedures, they said.

“First in the room, at the back of the line,” chanted the workers as they left the center on Friday afternoon, carrying signs. Videos and photos posted on social media show dozens of scrub-clad workers walking through the medical facility before gathering in a stairwell.

“I have seen 16 Covid patients in the past 24 hours … More than double the number of residents receiving the vaccine,” read a sign held by a masked medical worker.

“It’s not just about residents. We are here to represent our nurses. We are here to support them. Our respiratory therapists, our environmental service workers, the food staff, everyone, ”said a resident during the demonstration, before revealing that only two pediatric emergency nurses received vaccines.

Another Stanford resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional reprisal, accused Stanford of “neglecting” its frontline workers, especially those who are just starting their careers and have been willing to put their lives on the line. danger to provide care during the pandemic. The resident said that only “about seven residents and fellows” should receive the vaccine in this first round, out of the 5,000 available doses.

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“To put that in context, there are around 1,300 of us,” the resident told The Daily Beast. “This means that some medical staff who have been in intensive care have been excluded, while those who have been working from home since the start of the pandemic will receive the vaccine.”

“I mean, some healthcare professionals who should get any of the 5,000 vaccines … haven’t even touched an N-95 mask or treated a COVID-19 patient. It’s absurd, ”added the resident.

Protesters said The Chronicle of San Francisco that the seven who were included in the first round of vaccinations were orthopedic surgeons, outpatient nurses and a dermatologist.

Stanford Medical Center departments showed solidarity with medical workers protesting on social media on Friday, and some doctors have reportedly abandoned their place in the vaccination line.

Stanford Healthcare Department of Urology and Heads of Internal Medicine Unit were among those in the medical community who tweeted their dislike for the algorithm Stanford had in place to determine who would get the vaccine first. Roxana Daneshjou, a dermatologist at Stanford, tweeted that some “people in attendance … immediately gave up their spots because they didn’t ask to be in wave one and obviously want the frontline to get it first.”

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“The Stanford EM residency program was appalled by the vaccine allocation process. An algorithm, designed to ensure equitable distribution of the first round of vaccines, failed to correctly identify high-risk healthcare workers. Although residents were included in the initial pool for review, the algorithm dropped them and far too few were included in the first round, ”said Dr Sara Marie Krzyzaniak, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. emergency from Stanford, to the Daily Beast.

“Our department leadership has worked tirelessly to help correct this problem. Our program has immense gratitude for our residents and is deeply grateful for their work on the front lines in caring for our patients, ”added Krzyzaniak.

The astonishing protest drew a swift response from Stanford executives, including Stanford Health Care CEO David Entwhistle, who reportedly told the assembled crowd, “We’re going to fix this. We know this is wrong.

In A declaration to the The Chronicle, Health center officials admitted there were “flaws” in their vaccination plan and promised a new solution was being worked out. Stanford Medical Center did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.

At least 22,160 people have died and 1.7 million others have tested positive for COVID-19 in California, which is experiencing a sharp spate of cases that has forced state officials to implement strict restrictions. On Thursday, the state recorded 52,000 new cases – more infections than in all of Germany or India – and was battling a positivity rate of nearly 12%.

Complaints of people “cutting” the range of vaccines are increasing across the country. New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital was criticized this week for vaccinating a marketing department employee before hospital workers who directly interact with COVID-19 patients.

And ahead of Friday’s protest, Stanford residents and fellows sent a letter to university leaders in response to the distribution plan, saying the initial allocation of the more than 5,000 Pfizer vaccines obtained was not enough.

Dr Earth Hasassri, researcher in child and adolescent psychiatry at Sanford Medical Center, tweeted in response to Stanford’s plan, “Except you forgot those of us who were on the front lines: residents and fellows were basically not included in the first round of vaccines despite working over 80 hours per week in the hospital. treating patients with COVID-19. ”

In the letter to university leaders, employees said there was still “no articulated plan” to vaccinate residents and fellows, and the pecking order did not match the level of exposure. “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. us, ”they wrote.

Stanford officials sent out several emails this week apologizing for the botched distribution, according to Politico, who got two of the emails from a tipster. The first, by Stanford Chief Medical Officer Niraj Sehgal, said it was “clear that there were several unintentional missteps” and lamented the “perceived lack of priority for residents and fellows”, which, according to Sehgal, was not intentional.

Another email later in the week from Stanford officials reminded beneficiaries that although frontline workers have been denied vaccination this cycle, an additional 15,000 doses will arrive next week. “There are now active conversations to ensure that interns are meaningfully represented in all levels to come,” the email said.

“The disparities in vaccine distribution can be seen at a micro-level at Stanford today. I’m afraid that the situation we see at [Stanford] is a harbinger of population inequalities in vaccine delivery to our underserved communities, ”said Dr. Christine Santiago, resident of the Stanford Internal Medicine Program, tweeted Friday.

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