Goldman, Fed, Citi Getting Preferential Allotments of H1N1 Vaccine
Naked Capitalism
07 Novembre 2009
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.
And please, it strains credulity to think that someone on the
payroll at these companies won’t bend to pressure to make allotments at
the margin according to who is most powerful. Do you think if Lloyd
Blankfein or another member of the management committee was in a risk
category that he would be denied it, assuming the firm did not have
enough to go around? (and that is likely). Now given the brouhaha,
Goldman may bend over backwards not to abuse this overmuch now that
there is media pushback. But this serves to illustrate how the system
has been suborned on just about every front. To wit, Goldman is getting
200 doses of the vaccine, the same number as Lenox Hill Hospital.
Source > Naked Capitalism | Nov 05