A San Jose city councilmember is condemning a local hospital that let dozens of teachers and staffers from an affluent school district in Los Gatos jump the line for COVID-19 vaccines for which they weren’t eligible.
"I was appalled that the hospital let people jump the queue," Councilmember Pam Foley, who represents the district where Good Samaritan Hospital is located, told KQED.
Her remarks on Wednesday came one day after Joe DeSchryver, CEO of Good Samaritan, resigned, weeks after the vaccine scandal first broke.
"The county had a specific rollout on how vaccinations were to be distributed," Foley said. "And Good Samaritan Hospital didn't honor that commitment. They gave them to people who represent a wealthy school district. That's about equity and fairness."
"Frankly, people in our needy areas of San Jose who have a higher level of COVID should be further up the line to get the vaccines," she added.
In response to the incident, Santa Clara County stopped providing COVID-19 vaccines to Good Samaritan.
Foley described that decision as "unfortunate."
"There are still people in the area who need vaccines," she said.
Antonio Castelan, a spokesperson for Good Samaritan's parent company HCA Healthcare, said in a statement that DeSchryver resigned "to pursue external career advancement opportunities."
"We are grateful for [DeSchryver's] leadership at Good Samaritan Hospital over the past four years and the remarkable job he has done, including the intense past year marked by COVID-19," a statement from HCA Healthcare said.
DeSchryver will remain at the hospital for the next few months, and the company will look nationally for his replacement, according to HCA.