Goldman, Fed, Citi Getting Preferential Allotments of H1N1 Vaccine

[Joanne98]

It should come as no surprise that those at the top of the food chain get preferential treatment on all levels. But this still stinks to high heaven. Employees of the Goldman, the Fed, Citigroup, and other banks are getting H1N1 vaccine allotments out of proportion to what can be justified from a public health standpoint. In particular, Goldman has gotten more than Lenox HIll hospital, which needs it not just for the sick but more important, for workers (not only does the public need to keep front-line health care workers in as good shape as possible, but if they get the infection, they become disease vectors fast, given the number of people they see).

Then again, banks have become parasitic, so why should we expect anything different? And although Business Week broke the story, it did it press release style:

To the list of hundreds of schools, hospitals, and community health centers that have received limited allocations of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, you can now add some of New York’s largest employers. In the past week or so 13 companies, including Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS), have begun receiving small quantities of the vaccine, according to city health authorities.

Citigroup has been supplied with 1,200 units and Goldman with 200, says Jessica Scaperotti, press secretary for the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. The agency has so far approved orders by 29 employers—including 16 that have yet to receive any vaccine—after they were cleared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Big employers that have received or are scheduled to receive vaccine so far include Time Warner (TWX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Memorial Sloan-Kettering, New York Presbyterian Healthcare System, and New York University.

Health-care workers at those employers are bound by the CDC to distribute the vaccine only to populations deemed to be at high risk of developing serious complications from swine flu: pregnant women, children and young people aged 6 months to 24 years, people who live with or provide care for infants under 6 months (who cannot be vaccinated), people aged 24 to 64 with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for flu-related complications, and health-care workers and emergency medical personnel.

Yves here. Welcome to the class system in action. If you don’t work for a big, influential company, go to the back of the queue. Why should companies be the nexus of distribution for vaccines? I guarantee no Goldman MD gets much of his routine medical treatment from the GS health workers on staff (emergencies or a fast diagnostic like a strep test are different). But if you work for a less privileged employer or are self-employed or between jobs, tough luck, go to the back of the queue, you have to try to get yours (assuming you can) from vaccination centers in New York City. How easy do you think that will be? The difficulty and queuing are certain to be much worse than for any of the big financial players.

Continued>>>
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/11/goldman-fed-citi-getting-preferential-allotments-of-h1n1-vaccine.html

:nuke:

[MannyGoldstein]

1. I'd think this should be on the front page?

It tells us a lot about who counts to our government, and who doesn't. Could it be clearer?

[Why Syzygy]

2. Well if they are TOO BIG to FAIL

(even when they really DO fail), we can't expect them to stay home sick, can we.

[northernlights]

3. I don't like it, but this sort of explains it

"Health-care workers at those employers are bound by the CDC to distribute the vaccine only to populations deemed to be at high risk of developing serious complications from swine flu: pregnant women, children and young people aged 6 months to 24 years, people who live with or provide care for infants under 6 months (who cannot be vaccinated), people aged 24 to 64 with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for flu-related complications, and health-care workers and emergency medical personnel. "

Very large employers often have health-care workers on staff -- I remember we did in the middle years of high tech (well before the big bubble, but while high tech was growing steadily). It looks as though the CDC is essentially allowing them to act as a distribution center for the vaccine, which gives some relief to the "real" health care system.

I believe there are 2 major reasons why the adminsitration pushed the development of the vaccine:

1. was PR, to ensure we didn't end up with another Katrina made-for-tv disaster, to distinguish this admin from the previous nightmare

2. to prevent disruption to the "economic recovery" by having scores of companies forced to shut down due to no employees showing up.

This action fits well into the above scenario.

And yes, the well-employed and better-off do end up the beneficiaries of the public largess. Which burns my butt, but there you have it. x(

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. This preferential treatment is customary at the top.

Where I live, people are always looking for ways to define the differences in status. Somethings make sense, like providing parking space near the auditoriums for those who are annual members; or fast lanes for those who pay more. Where it doesn't make sense is when a good ole boy gets a house built, breaking every imaginable code.

[Robb]

5. Conjecture.

I see no source offered to support the notion that the companies got their vaccine first, or that the "difficulty and queuing" are going to be worse for the general public.

I walked into a clinic Thursday. There was no waiting, and as I'm caring for an infant I received the attenuated virus nasal spray.

The idea is to distribute the vaccine quickly. It's not just banks, it's most big companies that have health departments that got some vaccine. Kroger, Microsoft, you name it, if there's an on-site clinic and the state health dept. approved it, they got some.

I would guess the employed are marginally more likely to spread the virus than the unemployed, so from an epidemiological standpoint it would make some sense to get it to them first. But there's no evidence that happened.