These 'Vaccine Hunters' are Getting their Shots Ahead of Schedule by Gaming the System
upstart writes in with an IRC submission:
These 'vaccine hunters' are getting their shots ahead of schedule by gaming the system:
Medina, a healthy 25-year-old, moved across the country to live with her parents on the East Coast after her work in the film industry dried up. Anxious to return to work safely, Medina decided in mid-January to go "vaccine dumpster diving."
Though a dumpster, this was not. Rather than dig through a hospital's garbage for vials, Medina staked out a grocery store pharmacy. She wanted to score a leftover vaccine.
She and a friend arrived in the early afternoon, prepared to wait. A line formed behind them. Hours later, when the day's appointments were done, pharmacy staff offered up eight leftover vaccines. Medina and her friend gleefully claimed two of them.
These vaccine seekers, spurred by reports of doses being dumped and feeling antsy for the country's vaccine rollout to pick up the pace, say they want to prevent waste -- by getting their shot early.
They see it as a win-win: They get vaccinated and a precious dose of the Covid-19 vaccine doesn't end up in the trash. But their gain is also a symptom of a lack of coordination in the US vaccination plan -- the initial rollout was much slower than expected, delaying President Joe Biden's plan for "100 million vaccinations in 100 days."
The lucky -- and privileged -- few who get vaccinated early assure what they're doing isn't wrong, although it certainly feels unfair to those who don't have the time or resources to "hunt" for their own.
Unsurprisingly, the hunters have been criticized for "jumping the line." But the hunters argue what they do is more ethical than letting the vaccines expire.
[...] And despite the incredibly high demand for vaccines , vaccination sites across the country have reportedly discarded precious doses after they weren't administered in time. (Both Pfizer and Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines only last a few hours unrefrigerated -- Pfizer's will expire within two hours , and Moderna's within 12 , after the vials are removed from the fridge.)
What are the options? Which ones are fair - and why?
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