“So it makes sense that when you have a limited supply commodity, like a vaccine in the middle of a pandemic, that you would try to get it to those who are most likely to die, or to get severely ill first. It’s also not surprising that a limited commodity may not actually go to those who need it most.
Especially if those who need it most have borne the brunt of structural racism and classism.”
For example, a vaccine site that opened in a Latino community in New York City saw its appointments filled by white people from elsewhere. Glitches in the system let people outside priority groups in Washington state, Tennessee, and Missouri make appointments. Some counties in Michigan are allowing local elected officials to get shots.
Among the country’s rich and powerful, many are scheming to find a vaccine before their turn. In Hollywood, entertainment-world heavyweights have been working their networks, offering bribes and flying by private jet to get shots when they can find them. In New York, a celebrity workout SoulCycle instructor booked an appointment by titling herself an “educator.” Before the state clamped down, Florida’s priority list didn’t require recipients to live in the state, so wealthy “vaccine tourists” flew in to get a shot. And some Seattle-area hospitals offered “invitation-only” vaccinations to hospital foundation board members and major donors. Yes you read that correctly. Vaccine selectivity based upon a funding relationship with the hospital.
“In this country, we’re used to prioritization and timeliness being determined by power, privilege, and money,” says Jean-Jacques. “I understand they’re equally scared, but they need to wait.” (Not all celebrities are taking advantage: 75-year-old Dolly Parton, who donated money to help vaccine research, has announced she’ll hold off on getting the vaccine.)
“Allowing the ultra-rich to buy their way to the front of a line, much like a Disney FastPass that allows guests to pay an added fee to avoid long lines at attractions, is uncertain to maximize benefits and minimize risks,” Hurst and Arbo wrote in the American Journal of Bioethics.
While these examples are clearly unethical jumping the line isn’t always the wrong thing to do. A vial of vaccine must be used in its entirety within 6 hours after opening, but facilities sometimes wind up with extra doses at the end of the day which if not used would have to be thrown away.
Some people are aware of this and will wait in line, just in case. Freezer breakdowns have also led to facilities to rush to administer the vaccines before they were no longer viable. Recently, during a snowstorm causing traffic standstills, health care workers in Oregon went from car to car, looking for takers.
“If you truly have vaccine that’s about to be thrown out, of course, you should get it into any safe arm that you can,” says Jean-Jacques. “Everybody in this country is at risk for COVID-19, illness, and death.”
Sources WebMD, LLC.