A Washington state hospital was accused of giving coronavirus vaccine priority to a list of donors, prompting a command from Gov. Jay Inslee to halt the alleged favoritism.
Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, located in Bellevue, reportedly emailed around 110 “major donors” who gave more than $10,000 to the facility, alerting them that vaccine spots were available despite being booked through March for public registration due to high demand for the shots. The hospital advertised 500 open immunization spots available “by invite” only until Inslee called the local facility and ordered the practice be terminated.
“If in fact they were giving preference to some VIP list, that’s not the way to do it,” the governor said in a Tuesday news conference. “That is not acceptable for us. We need to give everybody a fair shot at the vaccine … We’ve got to maintain public credibility in the system. I’m told that whatever they were doing has stopped, and that’s good news.”
Overlake defended the email by saying the vaccine slots were not available exclusively to high-paying allies, but also to volunteers, patients, and retired healthcare providers, a list that included over 4,000 people. The hospital’s chief operating officer, Tom DeBord, said Inslee’s decision last week to make anyone of the age of 65 eligible for the virus shot “overtaxed” their registration system and left 1,400 slots in limbo due to technical troubles.
DeBord, who admitted it “wasn’t the best way to do it,” indicated that they used the emails of people already in the system to alert the public of the availability. The executive added that “it was never intended to be a donor event.”
“We thought that was the most efficient way to add slots,” he said. “We’re under pressure to vaccinate people who are eligible and increase capacity. In hindsight, we could certainly look back and say this wasn’t the best way to do it.”
In Florida, MorseLife Health System, a nonprofit nursing home, was also accused of prioritizing vaccinations for high-profile donors and members of a country club that donated $75,000 to the care facility in 2015.
In late December, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo implemented a policy to revoke licenses and fine healthcare providers up to $1 million for unethical or fraudulent vaccine distribution. A similar policy does not yet exist in Washington state.
“Washington does not have penalties of this nature,” Department of Health spokeswoman Danielle Koenig said. “We want providers to work to ensure they are giving out the vaccine equitably and in a manner that protects those who are most impacted by COVID-19 and in keeping with current phase guidance.”
