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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.
Cutting, bribing, stealing: Some people get COVID-19 vaccines before it s their turn
Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
Bribing doctors. Circulating vaccination appointment codes. Chartering planes and impersonating essential workers.
More than a month since the USA began administering COVID-19 vaccines, many people who were not supposed to be first in line have received vaccinations. Anecdotal reports suggest people deliberately leveraged widespread vulnerabilities in the distribution process to acquire vaccine. Others were just in the right place at the right time. There s dozens and dozens of these stories, and they really show that the rollout was a complete disaster in terms of selling fairness, said Arthur Caplan, who heads the medical ethics division at the NYU School of Medicine. It wasn’t that we didn’t have consensus (on who should go first). We didn’t pay attention to logistics, and that drove distribution, not rules.
A Washington hospital system apologizes after offering vaccines to wealthy donors.
The Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, Wash., last spring.Credit.Grant Hindsley for The New York Times
Jan. 28, 2021
A Washington hospital system apologized after The Seattle Times reported that it had offered vaccines to wealthy donors while others went without the coveted shots.
Overlake Medical Center & Clinics sent an email to about 110 donors who gave more than $10,000 to the hospital system, telling them they could register for open appointments “by invite” only.
The report drew a rebuke from Gov. Jay Inslee, who said during a news conference on Tuesday that the practice was “simply unacceptable.”
Concierge doctors bombarded with calls from wealthy patients looking to jump vaccine lines
ABCNews
LOS ANGELES Direct and immediate access to their doctor is part of what Dr. Abe Malkin s patients pay for. Concierge practices like his tout first class, round-the-clock medical care. Malkin rarely silences his cell phone, so as not to miss anything, or anyone.
But since the COVID-19 vaccine made its U.S. debut, Malkin says his entire team has been bombarded by calls asking when they can get it, or if their names might be bumped up to the priority lists.
Some simply ask whether it s possible others ask if there s a purchase price.