Banks getting H1N1 before many at risk
Find a Conversation
| Thu, 11-05-2009 - 11:25am |
Swine Flu Vaccine:
Banks Getting H1N1 Doses Before Many High-Risk Groups (VIDEO)
While thousands of at-risk Americans wait, some big Wall Street banks have already secured the hard-to-find H1N1 vaccine for their employees.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05/swine-flu-vaccine-banks-g_n_346907.html
NBC reports this morning that employees at the New York Stock Exchange, bankers at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and employees at the Federal Reserve have all received swine flu vaccine doses to administer to their employees.
In particular, NBC reports that Goldman Sachs has received 200 doses of the vaccine -- the same amount as Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Wall Street banks, like many other companies, put in requests for the vaccine but seem to have had something of a leg up on securing doses.
Dr. Nancy Schnyderman, NBC's chief medical editor, chimed in on this seeming disparity:
"I think they probably played by the rules, there are corporations all over the country who put in there dibs...But, what a sore eye for Wall Street. Wouldn't have been lovely if they had said, look we put it in our dibs, we played by the rules, but we're going to donate our 200 doses."
Some corporations seem to be getting the doses before doctors and hospitals. Here's more from Schnyderman:
"If we know that the distribution is the weak part of this entire thing, why not put doctor's offices and hospitals at the top of the line, and say to corporate America, no matter who you are, you're you're going to have to go through clinics and hospitals like everyone else."
The SEIU has released a statement on the matter, and has started a campaign to get the big banks to donate their doses. From its release: "There's no excuse for this. Pregnant women have been waiting in line for hours to get that shot. Community hospitals across the country have been turning patients away while they wait to receive their vaccinations. But Citi and Goldman Sachs have already received 1,400 doses between them."
Edited 11/5/2009 11:27 am ET by libraone



I heard on the news the other day that prisoners are getting the shots before the general public too!
Actually, the risk of prisoners getting a contagious illness is higher than for the rest of us because of their confinement. They lose immunities the rest us build up because we come in contact with virus/bacteria
I have a thirteen year old grandson who has a heart defect.
Cheri Roe
http://cheriroe-ivil.tripod.com
Those terrible, socialized, systems in Europe are handling it so differently. Imagine that. Honestly making high risk people first priority? Boy, don't they have their heads screwed on sideways? (Please note sarcasm in my statement.)
Why do you think so many Americans are so dog eat dog, and if they have theirs, that is all that matters to them? I know I hear these attitudes from people who consider themselves, good, honorable
My Dr. hasn't received any H1N1 vaccine yet
We don't have H1N1 available here either (Washington state).
In my previous post, I did acknowledge the risks of a confined population.