Healthcare workers at Stanford Medical Center are demanding they be given priority for getting the coronavirus vaccine, standing in protest at the Palo Alto campus Friday chanting: "First in the room, back of the line."
More than 1,300 residents and fellows at the hospital said there’s been no clear plan to get them vaccinated for COVID-19, as many surgeons and doctors who do not see patients daily are getting their vaccines first, according to the group.
"I think they should be responsible for making that decision,” said Patrice DePola, who works as an RN in the hospital’s cardiovascular department. "’Do I get it or do I give it to somebody who needs it more?’ I mean it’s a contentious decision on everybody’s part."
She felt it’s unfair that those who are dealing with COVID-19 patients.
"I don’t mind waiting a little bit, but the people who are bedside and taking care of them and in emergency rooms, especially when you don’t know if somebody has tested positive or not, to be able to have that vaccine is really important," DePola told KCBS Radio.
The first wave of 5,000 vaccinations happening this week only included seven frontline residents, according to a letter written on behalf of the school's residents to the administration. During Friday’s protest hospital administration apologized, with President and CEO of Stanford Health David Entwhistle speaking to the crowd: "We’ll correct it. We know that it’s wrong."
KCBS Radio has reached out to Stanford Health and but have not yet heard back.
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