Governor Steve Sisolak sharply criticized vaccine distribution practices in southern Nevada, which allowed young employees of local government agencies to receive COVID-19 vaccines before seniors in Nevadanos who were most at risk of serious illness.
The governor said he took a “big exception” to what he described as “skipping the line” by city and municipal government officials who, under the guidance of the state’s manual for vaccine distribution, should not be eligible for early access to the vaccine.
“What was most offensive about this … meant that there was no vaccine for someone who really needed it,” the governor said in an interview with the Review-Journal on Friday.
“There was no vaccine for an 80-year-old with an underlying illness because a 22-year-old who didn’t need it immediately went and got it because he worked for the city or county,” he continued.
“This is not fair. And I was very opposed to that.”
Priority for government officials
On January 18, Clark County vaccine eligibility was extended beyond health professionals and first responders, to teachers and some members of an occupational category called “governance continuity,” defined in the state manual as including state officials, local and other elected officials and support staff. The move came just days after those 70 and older became eligible.
A bottleneck at the time made vaccination appointments frustratingly difficult to happen, with older residents reporting lengthy and fruitless searches on online consultation portals at any time of the day and night.
The intention stated in the manual is that not all government officials are eligible for early access to vaccines. He says that an employee who can work remotely or socially distant is not recommended to have early access to the vaccine. Each government has the power to decide whether an official cannot really avoid close and prolonged contact with other people, seeking to conserve limited allocations of vaccines to individuals who are most at risk.
Still, in early February, doses were offered to all individuals employed by Clark County and Las Vegas city governments, including those who work remotely, along with most Henderson city workers and at least half of the northern Las Vegas workforce. The county government employs more than 10,000 people, and the city of Las Vegas, about 2,700. People aged 65 to 69 did not receive the vaccine until February 22. Younger people with underlying health problems still remain ineligible.
Las Vegas city officials said they made a good faith effort to follow the rules.
“All I can assure you is that, to the best of our ability, and although I was mayor, we have fully complied with the decrees coming from our governor,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said on Tuesday.
Clark County officials did not respond to requests for comment on the governor’s comments.
‘Very flexible’ in the rules
The health district has been “very flexible” in determining who is eligible as a “frontline” worker, as long as its industry is eligible, said Dr. Fermin Leguen, district health chief, in an interview Monday market.
Once an industry is eligible, “we have provided a vaccine to most people who come from that industry,” he said. “I would say that we expand the criteria in terms of vaccine administration when people show up and say they belong to any of these industries.”
As for government officials, they can be invited to participate in the frontline response to the pandemic, regardless of position, said Leguen. All health district employees had early access to the vaccine for this reason.
“For a stranger like the health district to make that decision, whether the city is vaccinating someone inappropriately or not is very challenging,” he said. “So, this is something they need to control from the inside.”
In an email on Tuesday, Sisolak looked conciliatory. He praised local leaders for working with the state to implement the largest vaccination campaign in the state’s history.
“I know that our local leaders want nothing more than to vaccinate vulnerable populations, and to ensure that frontline officials in the local government who provide essential services to Nevadans during the crisis also have access,” he said.
“The reality is that each state is trying to navigate the distribution and administration of vaccines in an unprecedented situation with a limited number of doses, and everyone is doing the best they can.”
‘Line jump’
Sisolak for the first time shouted “skip the line” on February 5, saying in a YouTube video that “individuals who were able to work from home should not have access to the vaccine before frontline workers or the elderly”.
“It’s simple. The manual makes that very clear,” he continued. “I don’t blame those who were offered a vaccine for taking this opportunity. The blame rests directly on the shoulders of those in leadership positions.”
The governor noted at the time that neither he nor his team had received the vaccine. “We will not do it until we are eligible. You have my word on it. We don’t jump and we won’t skip the line, and others shouldn’t either. Elected officials must show the way. “
More recently, the governor’s office conducted an internal review to determine who, among officials, would have priority for vaccination. About 70% of the team was considered eligible, said spokeswoman Meghin Delaney in an email. The vaccination began to be administered to eligible employees in northern Nevada on February 25. Scheduling vaccinations for employees in southern Nevada began last week.
“The Governor’s Office understands that it has an obligation to operate under the highest standards when it comes to vaccinating employees according to the state manual,” said Delaney.
The governor, who had a mild case of the coronavirus in November, has not yet received the vaccine.
“The governor, who is eligible for both his age and occupation, will announce where and when he will receive his vaccine in the near future,” the governor’s office said in a press release on Friday.
Contact Mary Hynes at [email protected] or 702-383-0336. follow @ MaryHynes1 on twitter. Review-Journal staff writers Michael Scott Davidson and Shea Johnson contributed to this report.