New York City-based Mount Sinai caught flak this week after a marketing staffer posted Instagram photos of himself receiving the COVID-19 vaccine before some front-line workers, according to a Politico report.
Daniel Leinweber, a member of the Mount Sinai Doctors Brooklyn Heights marketing and outreach team, posted photos of himself on Instagram getting the shot Dec. 15. The posts were removed after questions about whether he should have been prioritized to receive the vaccine.
An ICU nurse anonymously told Politico: "The message this photo sends is that those employees who have shown up daily, continually put themselves and their families at risk, work shortstaffed because the care has to be done, are less valued and taken for granted. It's insulting."
The health system said Mr. Leinweber was chosen because of his work among high-risk people in the community. Federal, state and local policies prioritize front-line workers who are in direct contact with COVID-19 patients to receive the first vaccinations.
"We are very pleased with our initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to our front-line staff," said Mount Sinai Vice President of Public Affairs Lucia Lee in an email statement. "As part of our rollout, we made the deliberate decision to be as equitable in our distribution to high-risk locations as possible, and therefore included our small number of urgent care centers that see high volumes of COVID-19 patients. However, in our desire to fairly distribute the vaccine, we included some nonhospital based urgent care centers, which should not have been included."
Mount Sinai said it is reviewing its policies and has stopped vaccinating people at non-hospital based urgent care centers until it can discuss the issue with New York's health department.
"This is an incredibly sensitive and important time, and we understand and appreciate the concerns everyone is feeling," said Ms. Lee. "We regret any confusion or concern this may have caused, but we are working hard to rectify and clarify the situation."