Three counties in the San Francisco Bay area suspended deliveries of the COVID-19 vaccine to One Medical offices after the private health provider allowed ineligible people to cut the vaccine queue, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Wednesday.
According to the Chronicle, the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda have stopped sending doses of vaccines to One Medical and are looking to return more than 1,600 doses. The NBC Bay Area later confirmed the report.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health investigated complaints that the company was giving vaccines to people who did not meet the state’s initial eligibility criteria, the report said, and the company’s response indicated that, in fact, ineligible people had been vaccinated before of time.
California has vaccinated only people over 65, as well as health professionals and other essential professionals. The early supply shortage has forced some local health agencies to limit vaccinations to people over 75 or health professionals.
In a letter to One Medical executives, the San Francisco health department demanded that 1,600 doses of the vaccine be returned immediately because they were unable to verify the eligibility of some recipients of the vaccine. The doses were reserved for “other uses”, said the letter, which had not been authorized by the health department. The company was allowed to maintain sufficient doses to provide a second injection to those who had already received an injection.
San Mateo and Alameda County officials also found discrepancies, the Chronicle reported, and also cut their allocations.
NPR reported on Wednesday that One Medical was violating local regulations, allowing people to cut the queue for vaccinations in several states, including employees who did not deal with the public. Forbes reported similar claims earlier this month.
In a statement to MarketWatch, One Medical said: “Any claim that we largely and consciously ignore the eligibility guidelines is in direct contradiction to our real approach to administering the vaccine.
“Recent media reports about One Medical perpetuate dangerous public misunderstandings about our COVID-19 vaccine protocols and, more importantly, challenged our company’s values in our efforts to collaborate with health officials across the country to administer COVID- vaccines. 19. While this type of report is disheartening for our team members who have worked tirelessly nights and weekends dealing with the complexities and challenges of vaccine implantation, we remain committed to serving our communities and hope that this report does not hinder our ability to continue doing so. this vital job, ”said the company, adding that 96% of vaccinees had eligibility documentation and the other 4%“ were vaccinated according to zero waste protocols ”.
One Medical is a member-based health clinic with offices in 12 major markets and works with more than 7,000 companies. In November, One Medical reported that it had more than 511,000 members.
Shares of the parent company of One Medical, 1Life Healthcare Inc. ONEM,
fell more than 4% on Wednesday. After going public in January 2020, its shares rose 126% in the last 12 months, compared to the SPX of the S&P 500,
26% gain.