America’s richest are finding ways to access the vaccine before those who qualify for it.
Why does it matter: The pandemic has already widened existing health inequalities and underserved communities remain lagging behind in vaccination compared to whites and the wealthy.
The incident: In January, Florida Baptist Health Systems helped vaccinate 1,200 residents of the wealthy Ocean Reef community, but the doses came from its vaccine store for the general public, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
- Although Governor Ron DeSantis (R) insists that the state “was not involved”, a Baptist Health spokesman said the Ocean Reef Medical Center asked the state of Florida for the doses, which the state then requested from Baptist Health.
- Some of the beneficiaries were wealthy Republican donors who had contributed to DeSantis’ political action committee, reported Ben Montgomery of Axios.
- Baptist Health was forced to cancel vaccine appointments for “hundreds of people” due to scarcity, according to the Times. DeSantis has since faced adverse reactions.
But this is not the only case of rich people skirting the line.
- In Philadelphia, the 22-year-old CEO of a COVID-response startup was caught taking doses home to his friends.
- In another case, board members of nursing homes and major donors were invited to receive the vaccine for residents of West Palm Beach, Florida.
- The Los Angeles Times reported that affluent Californians are taking vaccines for black and Latino communities.
- Rich clients in Los Angeles and New York offered donations of up to $ 25,000 to concierge doctors in exchange for the vaccine.
- “All of a sudden, our clinic was filled with whites,” George Jones, head of a nonprofit organization that runs a medical clinic, told the New York Times in February. “We have never had this before. We serve people who are disproportionately African-American.”
The big picture: An analysis of local vaccine data in 10 states with the largest wealth gaps revealed that several states vaccinated a significantly higher proportion of people in the wealthiest counties, according to STAT.
- Connecticut has the biggest “glaring disparity” in vaccination rates between the richest and poorest communities, with a difference of 65%.
- California, Florida, New Jersey and Mississippi have also vaccinated people in the top 10 percent of wealthier counties at much higher rates.
- Cities continue to struggle to adequately reach black, low-income communities.
The Biden administration allocated $ 250 million in donations to community organizations in an effort to combat inequalities in cities’ response to coronavirus.
- States like Colorado and Minnesota are also trying to address gaps in vaccine distribution.
Go deeper: “Vaccine tourism” extends the offer of states