SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Sharp HealthCare is being questioned after more than 300 San Diego police and firefighters received the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of schedule.
Sharp HealthCare is defending its actions and reporting that it made the right decision in circumstances where vaccine doses were set to expire.
San Diego County officials confirmed with ABC10 News that the county was told Tuesday morning that Sharp HealthCare had 300 vaccines to expire, so hospital staff instructed police officers to come in and be vaccinated. The county reported that Sharp HealthCare did not notify the county in advance, or the county would have instructed Sharp HealthCare to vaccinate eligible Phase 1A recipients, such as health workers and nursing home residents.
Police officers and firefighters are considered essential workers who are included in phase 1B of the vaccine distribution plan. This phase has not started.
A spokesman for Sharp HealthCare confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that on Monday, around 7:30 pm, he did not contact the county for a directive on what to do with the vaccine surplus because it was too late. Instead, the spokesman said Sharp HealthCare said it quickly came up with a plan to vaccinate early respondents, most of whom are SDPD officers, but also some firefighters. The spokesman said they could not have foreseen this surplus in the vaccine stock.
The spokesman characterized it as a win-win situation, as Sharp HealthCare was able to use the vaccines before they expired, and hundreds of police officers were vaccinated. The spokesman added that the state allows hospitals to deliver the vaccine to lower priority groups when doses are about to expire.
County officials reported on Tuesday afternoon that the county has now asked the state to direct hospitals in similar positions to notify and coordinate with the county before moving to a different priority level.
ABC10 News contacted the SDPD for comment. A representative from the city of San Diego sent the following statement.
“As a city health partner, Sharp Healthcare contacted us around 7:30 pm yesterday to offer 300 free vaccines to the city that were due to expire at 9 am today. Knowing that time was essential to using these valuable resources, vaccinations were administered to the first respondents from the city’s Fire and Police Departments who work closely with the public every day. There were approximately 120 vaccines administered to EMT / paramedics in the Fire Department and 186 administered to police. The city of San Diego recognizes the importance of keeping our public security personnel healthy and will continue to work collaboratively with all of our partners. ”