×
Jayapal, DelBene among more than two dozen in Congress asking for national ban on preferential access to COVID-19 vaccine By Evan Bush, The Seattle Times
Published: February 12, 2021, 7:55am
Share:
More than two dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue a nationwide ban that would prevent health care providers from offering special access to COVID-19 vaccines.
In a letter Thursday to HHS acting secretary Norris Cochran, the members of Congress asked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to add an “explicit ban on preferential access” to the agreement that vaccine providers must sign with the federal government before they can receive and administer vaccine.
King County Council rebukes preferential COVID-19 vaccinations, calls on state to take action By Melissa Hellmann, The Seattle Times
Published: February 10, 2021, 8:06am
Share:
SEATTLE Following reports of donors, volunteers and board members of medical systems being given special access to COVID-19 vaccines, the King County Council rebuked the practice in legislation passed Tuesday and called on the state to ban such preferential treatment.
The King County Council’s motion is the latest in a series of actions from government officials condemning special access to COVID-19 vaccines. Revelation of the practice comes at a time when the vaccine is in short supply, and its beleaguered distribution is fraught with inequities.
Stealing, bribing, VIP scheduling
Some people have set out to steal, bribe or manipulate their way to vaccine. Last month, Polk County, Florida s 2020 Paramedic of the Year was arrested and charged with stealing vaccines meant for first responders. The first responder confessed to stealing three doses and forging paperwork to try to cover his actions.
In Philadelphia, a 22-year-old student who got a contract from the city to run its vaccine distribution sign-up admitted he took four doses home and administered them to friends. The city announced last week that it would no longer work with his startup.
Several concierge doctors – who offer personalized medical services and direct access for an annual fee – reported clients or would-be clients offering bribes for vaccine.
The company is making good on president Brad Smith s word.
By
Benjamin Cassidy
2/5/2021 at 9:52am
Should we call this mixed-use now?
It almost seems greedy to want to choose your coronavirus vaccination site. At this point in the rollout, just getting a vaccine
anywhere should be considered an accomplishment. More than 600 providers requested 358,000-plus first doses of shots for this week, per the Washington State Department of Health. Yet our first-dose allocation from the federal government was less than a third of that numberâ107,125.
In King County, a local arena has gotten in on the distribution act. Accesso Showare Center in Kent became a vaccination site earlier this week (as did the Auburn General Services Administration Complex). And popup clinics at Amazon s headquarters in South Lake Union have also brought injections out of the realm of gurneys and smocks.