A California hospital is acknowledging it gave the COVID-19 vaccine to “several” people who are not online healthcare workers—after a woman took to Facebook to brag that she got a dose because a family member had connections. “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think I would be getting the COVID-19 vaccine today. But here we are. I’m so very happy,” the woman, who is reportedly a 33-year-old Disney employee, wrote in a post that has since been deleted. Bizarrely, she added, “Science is basically my religion, so this was a big deal for me.”
The Pasadena Star-News reported that the woman, whose name was withheld, posted a photo of a vaccination card from Redlands Community Hospital. The hospital did not confirm that specific woman had been inoculated but did say that after doctors and staff received the vaccine, “there were several doses left.” It added, “Because the reconstituted Pfizer vaccine must be used within hours or be disposed of, several doses were administered to non-front line healthcare workers so that valuable vaccine would not be thrown away.” Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of public health at UC Irvine, told the paper the statement “doesn’t pass the smell test.”
Read it at Pasadena Star-News
