Since the vaccination work in the United States began, it has been twists and downs, and now there is a new mess: American medical staff who once fought against the virus side by side have “killed each other” in order to compete for the vaccine.
As the vaccine distribution work progresses, such a hogging scene is being staged in New York City hospitals. According to the New York Times, this phenomenon may even spread across the United States.
A “mistake” aroused public anger
In the vaccination work in the United States, medical staff on the front line of the epidemic have become the priority targets of vaccination, among which the medical staff who face the highest risk of infection have higher priority. However, the New York Times revealed on the 24th that when the coronavirus vaccine arrived last week, New York’s well-known Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital made a “mistake”: vaccination was not prioritized, resulting in some low-risk departments, even home-based employees, to preempt the vaccination.
The incident immediately aroused the anger of the hospital staff. Hospital executive Craig Albanese also apologized to employees in an email: “I am very disappointed and sad that this happened.”
The confusion of vaccination sequence has triggered “infighting” between medical staff. All four medical staff interviewed at the hospital expressed dissatisfaction with colleagues and the hospital management lowered the threshold of vaccination.
A nurse at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital said she even confronted her because she jumped in line to get a vaccine. The social worker defended that he would also go to the emergency room and be exposed to high-risk conditions.
“But this is not the case.” The nurse retorted. Other nurses complained that they were not able to get the vaccine a week after the vaccination began.
A doctor working in the intensive care unit recalled a scene he witnessed last week: a group of hospital workers “strugged” to the vaccination station, and one of them even “sneergedly” as he passed by that he was ready to go for the vaccine.
“I think it’s sad that people are starting to hate each other. This is a scuffle. The doctor said, “Can you honestly think that someone should be vaccinated more than yourself? No way.
Hospital executive Craig Abbottian, instead, blamed the vaccination team in part for the “scrimmage” because they did not follow the list. We need to prioritize the groups that are most at risk.” Albert wrote in the email.
“It’s clear that we’re going to kill each other for that.” Another doctor at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital said so.
Expectations for vaccines have become helpless to compete for vaccines.
What happened at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is just the “tip of the iceberg” of New York City hospitals. With the arrival of thousands of doses of vaccines, the vaccination sequence has become the focus of debate among medical staff.
The New York Times said that more than six medical staff at New York area hospitals said they were “uneasy” about the way their service agencies distributed vaccines.
At some of Manhattan’s big hospitals, healthcare workers recall that whenever they see a colleague post a selfie of vaccination, they ask themselves — should this person prioritize vaccinations than me?
For medical staff who are not included in the priority vaccination, they are also angry. “We don’t feel respect and value because we can’t prioritize vaccinations,” a anaesthesiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, wrote to hospital management complaints.
In the social media group, medical staff are increasingly discussing vaccination. There are even rumors that a plastic surgeon who has nothing to do with the novel coronavirus has also been vaccinated.
Another doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital said that some doctors also gave “self-brainwashing” advice to colleagues who were not on the priority list, claiming that they just need to queue up and say to themselves over and over again that “you do work related to the novel coronavirus” to persuade themselves to get a vaccine.
One doctor believes that the uproar of the debate shows the distrust of medical staff in vaccine distribution and the attitude of “everyone is only for themselves”.
“Despite our strict vaccination policies and Cheng Xun, we have also received allegations of misconduct. Facing the controversy, Mount Sinai Medical Center responded in a statement: “Because of confidentiality, we cannot talk about any specific personal issues.
But any allegations of misconduct will be thoroughly investigated.”
Nevertheless, the New York Times still believes that as the vaccine is distributed to more areas, the scene of New York City hospitals will be a preview across the United States.
“We used to have a like-minded friendship, and that’s what holds us through the pandemic.” “Our expectation of a vaccine coming today is turning into a fight, full of suspicion and distrust,” said Ivy Vega, an occupational therapist at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
