A 33-year-old woman who allegedly works for Disney bragged in a Facebook post this week that she received the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reserved for top health care professionals because of a relative’s connection to Redlands Community Hospital.
“When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think I was going to get the COVID-19 vaccine today. But here we are. I’m very happy, “said Riverside’s wife about her good fortune on Sunday, December 20.” Science is basically my religion, so that was very important to me. “
She also posted a photo of her Redlands community vaccination card.
Family connection
When a Facebook friend asked how she managed to get the vaccine that is not yet available to the general public, she replied that her husband’s aunt is a “big deal” in the Redlands community and had leftover doses that were about to expire.
The woman, who is not being identified by the Southern California News Group, did not return calls or respond to a Facebook message asking for comment. She has since removed the posts.
Redlands Community officials explained in a statement how the remnants of the doses of the Pfizer vaccine were distributed, but did not explain how the recipients were chosen or said whether the woman was among those who received them.
“Redlands Community Hospital administered its share of Pfizer vaccines to its frontline doctors, healthcare professionals and support staff in accordance with the guidelines of the California Department of Public Health,” the statement says. “After doctors and staff who expressed an interest in the vaccine were administered, there were several doses left. Since the reconstituted Pfizer vaccine must be used within a few hours or discarded, several doses were administered to health professionals outside the front line so that the valuable vaccine was not thrown away. “
The Redlands community started administering its first batch of vaccine to frontline and support staff on December 18. The hospital did not provide specific information on how many doses were left.
The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at -94 degrees Fahrenheit and administered immediately after thawing, or it goes to waste.
Who should receive extra doses?
Although vaccine vials typically contain five doses, some have been found to have up to two extra doses.
All extra doses must be administered, the Food and Drug Administration said in a December 16 statement. “Given the public health emergency, the FDA is advising that it is acceptable to use each full dose that can be obtained (the sixth, or possibly the seventh) from each vial, pending resolution of the problem,” says the statement.
Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health at UC Irvine, said it is worrying that Riverside’s wife managed to get one of the extra doses in the Redlands community due to a family connection. Hospitals, he said, have a duty to ensure that vaccines are administered properly and equitably.
“It doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Noymer. “Nurses, technicians, caretakers and attendants need to be vaccinated before any random members of the community.”
The CDC suggests that frontline health workers should be vaccinated first, followed by vulnerable populations, especially residents of nursing homes, according to Dr. David D. Lo, senior associate dean of research at UC Riverside School of Medicine
“But at the end of the day, it is still up to the states (to decide who gets vaccinated) and also to the individual places where the vaccines are administered,” he said by email.
State says frontline workers are the first
There is no debate about who should be first in line for vaccines, said Ali Bay, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health.
“Federal and state vaccine guidelines have prioritized our frontline healthcare professionals, who put their lives at risk to fight the virus from day one,” she said. “We urge all health care providers to follow state guidelines on vaccination phases, which were created in consultation with experts and community leaders.”
However, the launch of COVID-19 vaccines in California did not go without fail.
On December 18, frustrated doctors at Stanford University Medical Center Hospital made a strident protest after an algorithm failed to prioritize most frontline doctors for the initial doses of the vaccine. The hospital has since apologized and agreed to change its vaccination distribution plan.
While some may believe that it is unwise or unethical to give the first batch of vaccines to outside service providers, such as politicians, it is not illegal and may have some advantages, said Lo.
“This can induce skeptics to get the vaccine if they see vaccination by public figures and, in order to obtain effective herd immunity, we want widespread adoption of the vaccine,” he said.