A national health care provider has administered COVID-19 vaccinations to patients not yet eligible for the scarce vaccine, including those with connections to company leaders and customers of its concierge medical service, according to internal communications leaked to NPR.
San Francisco-based One Medical has been allocated thousands of vaccine doses by local health departments in some of the areas they provide medical services. People with connections to company leadership were set up with vaccine appointments, despite not yet being eligible under local public health guidelines, and some patients were permitted to skip the line ahead of other high-risk patients.
The problems have occurred in numerous company locations across several states. The Washington State Department of Health, citing a complaint it received this month, told NPR it had halted COVID-19 vaccine distribution to the company. Other regulators have also received complaints or stopped providing the vaccine.
One Medical brands itself a high-end health care provider serving a relatively affluent clientele that pays a $199 fee annually to receive easy online access to appointments, telemedicine and access to a streamlined, tech-focused medical experience. The company went public with an IPO in January 2020, with a valuation in the billions.
One Medical's shortcomings take place amid broader anecdotal evidence that suggests patients of various health care providers throughout the country are skipping the line due in part to loose enforcement. The situation highlights a serious ethical issue: determining who is entitled to a vaccine at a time of scarce availability and who is responsible for enforcing eligibility rules.
—Tim Mak, NPR