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Doctors say there has been an increase in the number of wealthy people, desperate to secure Covid-19 vaccination.
There are some things that money cannot buy, and that should include the first Covid-19 vaccines.
But even though the vaccine is currently in limited supply and deaths are disproportionate among people based on age, race or occupation, a new report from the Los Angeles Times shows that wealthy people are more than happy to queue even if it comes at the expense of the most vulnerable.
“We get hundreds of calls every day,” Dr. Ehsan Ali told the newspaper.
Ali is a Beverly Hills medical concierge whose clients include celebrities like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. “This is the first time that I have not been able to get something for my patients.”
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the Times reports that Ali and other doctors are receiving offers of “tens of thousands of dollars in cash,” as well as “having their personal assistants pester doctors every day and asking them if a five-figure donation to a hospital would help them jump. the line”. “
The California government requires distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine to prioritize people such as the elderly, the immunosuppressed, and healthcare workers. But with access to exclusive healthcare groups and money to spend on expensive “ultra-low-temperature freezers,” there are ways the super-rich are maneuvering around those guidelines.
“His people call me literally every day,” said a doctor to the Times. “They don’t want to wait. They want to know how they can get there faster. “
Governor Gavin Newsom, however, warned Hollywood stars and Silicon Valley giants that they might try to use their status and wealth to get vaccinated early.
“Those who think they can get ahead of the line and those who think because they have resources or have relationships that will allow them to do so … we will also be monitoring that very, very closely,” Newsom said.
Hopefully, the doctors will keep their oath and prioritize those who are most at risk. In the meantime, the rest of us will wait for the next round of $ 600 check stimulus packages to survive until we get vaccinated next fall.
