Wall Street Flu Shots Stir Backlash Over Vaccine

New York City health officials scrambled to explain themselves Thursday following outraged media reports about bankers who got scarce H1N1 flu vaccines through their employers.

AP

Although there is a longstanding arrangement for employers to provide seasonal flu shots to workers, the city health department was bombarded with calls and television reports about Wall Street workers jumping the line ahead of pregnant women and children.

"It's bad enough that Wall Street crashed our economy and is back to paying out platinum bonuses after taking trillions in taxpayer-funded bailouts and backstops," Service Employees International Union Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger said in a statement. "But purposely endangering the health of millions of Americans during a public health crisis crosses all lines of decency."

The shortage of H1N1 vaccines has frayed some nerves, and public health departments across the country say they will not be able to meet the bulk of the demand until December or January.

CNBC has learned that Morgan Stanley,

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[MS  Loading...      ()   ] one of the firms receiving the vaccines, says it has donated the vaccines it received to local hospitals.

A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman released this statement to CNBC: "We received 1000 doses of the swine flu shots-- 500 for NYC locations and 500 for our Westchester location. We went through the normal protocol and applied early to receive the inoculations. We never thought we would receive them ahead of area hospitals and once we saw your (TV) report, we promptly donated the doses we received to a few area hospitals."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates swine flu has infected more than 5 million people and it is documented as having killed 1,000.

The federal government, which is buying the vaccines and distributing them for free to 62 state and city health departments, says 35.6 million doses have been made and packaged since production began.

Close to 160 million people are in the priority groups to get vaccine first -- healthcare workers, pregnant women, children and adults under 65 with medical conditions, caregivers for infants too young to be vaccinated and people 24 and younger.

New York City health department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said the city is working to distribute the vaccine widely.

"When H1N1 vaccine first became available in the fall, we directed all available doses to pediatricians, OB-GYNs, community health centers, public and private hospitals," she said in a telephone interview.

Employee Health Concerns

"As more vaccine became available we started to place small orders to providers that serve adults, including employee health centers," said Scaperotti.

She said the city had given 800,000 doses to about 1,100 providers, with Lenox Hill Hospital, for example, getting 1,200 doses and banker Goldman Sachs getting 200 of the 5,300 doses it asked for, Scaperotti said.

"To put in context, if you look at the 25 largest employers in New York City, about 16 of them have received vaccine," Scaperotti said.

They include Goldman Sachs

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[GS  Loading...      ()   ], Columbia University, New York University, New York Presbyterian Healthcare System, Citi Group

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[C  Loading...      ()   ] , NYSE and others, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank, which is not among the top 25 employers.

She said public hospitals have received 8 percent of the available vaccines, private hospitals about 13 percent and 39 percent was set aside for school vaccination programs.

Employee health centers must sign an agreement that they will only administer the vaccine to those in identified high risk groups, Scaperotti said. The CDC planned to send out a letter later Thursday reminding vaccinating centers who the priority groups are.

"Goldman Sachs, like other responsible employers, has requested vaccine and will supply it only to employees who qualify based on the requirements identified by the CDC and Department of Health," the company said in a statement. Citi released a similar pledge.

More on H1N1 Flu From CNBC.com:

• H1N1 Flu Information from CDC
• Federal Government's flu.gov Guide

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued a major H1N1 preparedness guide for businesses, entitled "It's Not Flu as Usual."

• HHS Secty Sebelius and Commerce Secty Locke on H1N1

Other groups advising businesses on the most effective ways to stop the spread of H1N1 include the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).On a global scale, the World Health Organization and the United Nations have advised their members, including international businesses, on H1N1 prevention.

• Google Flu Trends
• Google's H1N1 Flu-Tracking Map