Rich Americans are trying to cut the line for Covid vaccine, doctors say

'These people don't usually have to wait’

Rich Americans in California are offering to buy their way to the front of the coronavirus vaccine line as the state continues to see a surge in infections and deaths, reports have said.

Speaking to CNN, a number of concierge doctors in the area say have received a number of requests for early access to the new vaccine in return for premium payments or donations.

Dr Jeff Toll, whose boutique internal medicine practice has admitting privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his high-profile clients have offered large sums in turn for prioritisation.

The doctor told outlets that one of his clientele, which includes chief executives and entertainment figures, offered to donate $25,000 to the hospital for early access to the shot.

“People are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars,” Dr Toll explained to The Los Angeles Times.

The doctor said that he has told patients they must wait in line as the vaccine is distributed to those most vulnerable to the disease and most likely to transmit it.

"I think one of the difficult things is for physicians who take care of these high-power people to be able to say, no you have to wait," Dr Toll told CNN. "These people don't usually have to wait."

The first wave of Pfizer’s vaccine candidate began distribution this week after it was given final approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.

Healthcare workers and nursing home residents are initially being prioritised for the shot, with the majority of US residents not expected to receive the vaccine until spring 2021.

Dr David Nazarian, of My Concierge MD in Beverly Hills, told the broadcaster that a number of clients have instructed him that money is no object in their attempts to receive the vaccine early.

"They wanted it yesterday," the doctor said. "We will play by the rules but are doing everything we can to secure and distribute the vaccine when it's available to us."

Dr Ehsan Ali, who runs Beverly Hills Concierge Doctor, told The LA Times that they “get hundreds of calls every single day.”

“This is the first time where I have not been able to get something for my patients.”

Earlier this week, the state received 327,000 initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but experts continue to warn of a deepening crisis this winter as hospital resources reach breaking point.

The state is seeing a record surge in Covid infections and hospitalisations, with nearly 16,000 patients currently hospitalised as of Friday and more than 250,000 new infections this week alone.

"We’re experiencing an explosive and very deadly surge,” state public health director Barbara Ferrer said on Wednesday.

Founder of Concierge MD LA, Dr Abe Malkin told CNN that of over 100 phone calls from those trying to get initial access to the jab, “five to 10 percent of those were willing to try to make some contribution to a charity to get themselves bumped up in line.”

California Gov Gavin Newsom, who was forced to apologise last month for flouting regulations, said the state would be “very aggressive in making sure that those with means, those with influence, are not crowding out those that are most deserving of the vaccines."

"To those that think they can get ahead of the line, and those that think because they have resources, or they have relationships that will allow them to do it. We will be monitoring that very, very, closely," he said this month.

Nationwide, cases of the novel respiratory disease continue to surge, with the country having amassed over 17.5 million recorded cases and 314,000 deaths.

Some health experts have said that aside from directly paying for the vaccine, some people may exploit ambiguous definitions for “pre-existing conditions” and “essential workers” to receive the vaccine.

“With enough money and influence, you can make a convincing argument about anything,” Glenn Ellis, a bioethicist and a visiting scholar at Tuskegee University told The LA Times.

“Every system has a weak link somewhere, and I’m sure someone is going to find it and someone’s going to exploit it,” Alison Bateman-House, an assistant professor of medical ethics at NYU told the newspaper.

“The question is: Where’s that weak link going to be, and how quickly will it be identified and stopped?”

Experts fear that the advantage of those with wealth will not only expand throughout the US but also worldwide, as privileged countries continue to hoard doses of vaccine candidates.

Of the approximately 12 billion doses the pharmaceutical industry is expected to produce next year, about 9 billion shots have already been reserved by rich countries, the Associated Press reported.

"The difference between people in rich countries getting vaccinated and the lack of any vaccines for the developing world will become quite stark,” said Anna Marriott, health policy manager at Oxfam.  

“And it will only prolong the pandemic.”