On Thursday, teachers and staff at the Los Gatos Union School District received a tantalizing offer in their e-mails: A COVID-19 vaccine ahead of schedule.
According to the investigative news agency San Jose Spotlight, Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Gatos offered district superintendent Paul Johnson and the team the vaccine as a “gesture” of kindness after the district raised funds for a meal delivery program. frontline workers.
“The hospital’s COO says we can access consultations … and released [Los Gatos schools] “said a letter from Johnson to district officials. Educators are part of Phase 1B in California and Santa Clara County, behind the frontline staff, residents of nursing homes and people aged 65 and over.
Teachers, by e-mail, were instructed to impersonate health workers – with the approval of COO Gary Purushotham, despite the threat of perjury – to gain access to the vaccine. “Remember to register initially in the healthcare industry,” said Johnson’s note.
The district did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
Santa Clara County is now withholding vaccines from the hospital after the offer has been extended and about 65 doses have been offered to teachers and district officials.
In a county letter obtained by SFGATE, Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 vaccination officer, said the hospital’s actions “are inconsistent with the letter and spirit” of the California vaccine protocol. It also created confusion, he claimed, “by making other educators understandably but incorrectly wait” for vaccines.
Santa Clara County will provide a second dose to those who received their first chance against the Good Samaritan. But “any additional doses,” he warned, will be withheld “unless and until the Good Samaritan provides sufficient guarantees that he will follow state and county instructions on vaccine eligibility.”
The Good Samaritan currently has just over 6,500 first and second doses of vaccine, according to a county panel.
Fenstersheib also suggested that the vaccine was offered as a kind of quid pro quo, rewarding “employees of a school district that provided fundraising for Good Samaritan employees, rather than prioritizing older educators or from county areas with a high prevalence of COVID-19. “
(In a follow-up email sent to teachers obtained by Spotlight, Johnson, the superintendent, denied any allegations of quid pro quo.)
Good Samaritan CEO Joe DeSchryver, in an apology posted on Saturday in which he said the hospital was “wrong”, explained that the decision to expand its vaccine distribution beyond state and municipal recommendations was made to “avoid the wasted supplies already defrosted. “
But at that point, Spotlight reported, the hospital barely had enough doses for hospital staff, other leaders and individuals aged 75 and over.
“We are committed to working with the county on a plan to ensure that we are clear and we are adhering to state and county guidelines on vaccine eligibility, which we did before this incident,” added DeSchryver. “In addition, we are reviewing our processes and systems to ensure that this does not happen again.”
The hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
On Monday, California distributed more than 2.3 million vaccines – 47% of its doses currently available.