The rich and famous of Hollywood are running a mad race to get the COVID-19 vaccine – offering up to $ 10,000 for the injection and posing as health professionals in a scene from a Suzanne Collins book, according to a new report .
“It’s like ‘Hunger Games’ out there,” a top entertainment executive told Variety about Tinseltown’s struggle to become immunized in California – now the epicenter of the global health crisis.
Dr. Robert Huizenga told the magazine that the rich offer up to $ 10,000 in desperation to take a chance – while others resort to more extreme measures.
“We received offers of bribes,” the Beverly Hills doctor told Variety. “We see people taking planes to all locations. We have seen people try to temporarily enter the health profession or the nursing home team to qualify for an early vaccine. ”
Huizenga said that notable members of the entertainment industry are treating the acquisition of a coveted vaccine as a “fight for their lives” amid slow distribution across the country.
“You can’t really blame them for using all the obstacles,” he said. “The state and the government have created a really horrendous system.”
Other older entertainment bigwigs migrated to Florida for medication, including Allen Shapiro, the 73-year-old CEO of Dick Clark Productions and 72-year-old former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons, Variety said.
Some are also traveling to Maui to receive the jab.
Golden State administered more than 2.4 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine – a rate of 6,192 vaccines per 100,000 people, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 387,500 people have been fully immunized so far.
But, like many other states, California – which has nearly 40 million residents – is on the verge of running out of vaccines after the rocket launch.
Cali recently switched to an age-based eligibility system after first administering frontline workers, healthcare professionals, teachers and people aged 65 and over.
Meanwhile, infections have increased in the state, with 25,747 new cases and 422 new deaths recorded on Monday, according to John Hopkins University.
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