Hunterdon Medical Center gave COVID-19 vaccine to donors, relatives of senior hospital officials, report says – CBS Philly

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FLEMINGTON, NJ (CBS / AP) – Some of the first people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at a medical center in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, were relatives of senior hospital officials and some of its administrators and donors, according to a published report. The injections were administered by Hunterdon Medical Center in December and early January, a time when only frontline healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities were eligible.

A vaccine recipient registry, obtained by New Jersey 101.5 FM, indicated that injections had been sent to two longtime donors in hospital and at least seven spouses and two adult children of medical directors, administrators or executives of the health care network. The radio station said it received the log from a whistleblower it did not identify.

Some of the recipients were in their 20s, an age group unlikely to qualify for the vaccine for many months.

A spokesperson for the hospital said donors and board members did not have a preference over eligible staff or those at risk available, but received the vaccine when recipients eligible could not be located rather than losing vaccine doses.

“Over 99% of the doses Hunterdon Healthcare has administered so far have gone to priority health workers, clinicians, seniors and those at risk,” spokesperson Jason VanDiver said in an email Thursday. .

“When other Hunterdon Healthcare employees or physicians wishing to receive the vaccine could not be located before a vaccine dose expired, we vaccinated volunteers who were easily contacted and immediately available, including members of the family of clinic staff, board members, community members and family members of the management team. This was in accordance with a protocol approved by the Ministry of Health, ”he added.

Despite the explanation that the vaccines were not given to the general public until they were about to expire, two donors who had given at least $ 10,000 to the hospital were given vaccines on December 18. This is a day after the hospital received its first delivery, according to records set by New Jersey 101.5.

New Jersey received about 100,000 doses of the vaccine per week, but health officials said the state needed more than four times as much to meet demand. A state-run hotline for vaccine appointments has been flooded and residents have complained of waiting months for appointments or not being able to get them at all.

New Jersey had administered vaccines to about 650,000 people as of Wednesday. The state opened eligibility to people between the ages of 16 and 64 with health conditions, including smokers, this month.

New Jersey reported nearly 4,000 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 610,000. More than 19,000 residents have died from the virus.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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