Wealthy patients scramble for COVID-19 vaccine
Student pharmacist Wilbur Quimba dilutes vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/TNS
Los Angeles Times
Published: 12/19/2020 10:51:38 AM
LOS ANGELES They’re offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making their personal assistants pester doctors every day, and asking whether a five-figure donation to a hospital would help them jump the line.
The COVID-19 vaccine is here and so are the wealthy people who want it first.
“We get hundreds of calls every single day,” said Dr. Ehsan Ali, who runs Beverly Hills Concierge Doctor. His clients, who include Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, pay $2,000 to $10,000 a year for personalized care. “This is the first time where I have not been able to get something for my patients.”
Amina Khan, and it’s
Friday, Dec. 18. Here’s the latest on what’s happening with the coronavirus, plus ways to spend your weekend and a look at some of the week’s best stories.
A COVID-19 vaccine has been out for less than a week, and the
rich people who want it first are already looking for ways to jump to the front of the line. They’re offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making their personal assistants pester doctors daily, and asking whether five-figure donations to a hospital would, in every sense of the phrase, give them a shot, my colleagues Laura J. Nelson and Maya Lau write.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Patient readers, sorry to be a bit late. Every so often by VPN causes my browser to believe I’m in Norway, at which point search results and my mailer UI appear in Norwegian, and I have to spend a few minutes persuading my browser otherwise. More politics shortly. –lambert
Bird Song of the Day
#COVID19
At reader request, I’ve added this daily chart from 91-DIVOC. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site.
Resuming the upward climb, though at a lesser slope. Looks like the Midwest did it, from the regional data. I feel I’m engaging in a macabre form of tape-watching, because I don’t think the peak is coming in the next days, or even weeks. Is the virus gathering itself for another leap?
Print
They’re offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making their personal assistants pester doctors every day, and asking whether a five-figure donation to a hospital would help them jump the line.
The COVID-19 vaccine is here and so are the wealthy people who want it first.
“We get hundreds of calls every single day,” said Dr. Ehsan Ali, who runs Beverly Hills Concierge Doctor. His clients, who include Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, pay between $2,000 and $10,000 a year for personalized care. “This is the first time where I have not been able to get something for my patients.”
Wealthy patients scramble for COVID-19 vaccine: If I donate $25,000 would that help me? inquirer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.