When the COVID vaccines received their Emergency Use Authorization in December 2020, I was glad my elderly parents could finally emerge from their home quarantine. Many of my same-age friends had been long awaiting their turn to get the jab. Personally, I felt no urgency.
In California, first vaccine priority was given to front-line health care workers (HCW) and nursing home residents — and I observed from the sidelines the rollout process with line-jumping. Walgreens pharmacy staff administered vaccines to staff and residents at nursing homes while hospitals were allocated vaccines to distribute to their HCWs. On the first day of vaccine distribution, Stanford Hospital medical residents protested being left out of the initial allotment of 5,000 doses.
Based on priority, a young internist on active hospital staff became vaccine-eligible in mid-December, an elderly community physician (courtesy staff) in mid-January. A few days later, vaccines were made available to the 75+ general public. Hospital translators and billing personnel who hadn’t stepped into the hospital for ten months could get vaccinated prior to the elderly. With vaccine clinic appointments quickly snatched up in wealthy neighborhoods, wealthy residents drove several hours to access shots in other neighborhoods where demand was lower.
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