Hunterdon Medical Center gave COVID-19 vaccine to donors, relatives of the hospital’s top executives, says the report – CBS Philly

Hunterdon Medical Center gave COVID-19 vaccine to donors, relatives of the hospital’s top executives, says the report – CBS Philly

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FLEMINGTON, NJ (CBS / AP) – Some of the first people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a Hunterdon County medical center in New Jersey were relatives of senior hospital executives and some of their trustees and donors, according to with a published report. The injections were administered by Hunterdon Medical Center in December and early January, at a time when only frontline healthcare professionals and residents of long-term care facilities were eligible.

A record of vaccine recipients, obtained by New Jersey 101.5 FM, indicated that the vaccines went to two longtime donors to the hospital and at least seven spouses and two adult children of medical directors, administrators or health care executives. The radio station said it received the registration by a whistleblower, which it did not identify.

Some of the recipients were in their 20s, an age group that would probably not qualify for the vaccine for many months.

A hospital spokesman said donors and board members had no preference over eligible employees or at-risk individuals who were available, but who received the vaccine when eligible recipients could not be located, rather than doses of the vaccine going To the garbage.

“More than 99% of the doses that Hunterdon Healthcare has administered so far have been for priority healthcare professionals, doctors, the elderly and individuals at risk,” said spokesman Jason VanDiver in an email on Thursday.

“When additional Hunterdon Healthcare employees or doctors who wanted the vaccine could not be located before a dose of the vaccine expires, we vaccinated volunteers who were easily contacted and immediately available, including family members of the clinic, board members, community members and leadership team members. This followed a protocol approved by the Health Department ”, he added.

Despite the explanation that vaccines were only given to the general public when they were about to expire, two donors who had given at least $ 10,000 to the hospital received vaccines on December 18. The day after the hospital received its first shipment, according to records obtained by New Jersey 101.5.

New Jersey has received about 100,000 doses of vaccine per week, but health officials said the state needs more than four times that number to meet demand. A state hotline for vaccine appointments was flooded, and residents complained about waiting months for the appointments or not being able to get them.

New Jersey administered vaccines to about 650,000 people as of Wednesday. The state opened eligibility for people aged 16 to 64 with health problems, including smokers, this month.

New Jersey reported nearly 4,000 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total count to 610,000. More than 19,000 residents died from the virus.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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