Wall Street giants get swine flu vaccine

The Associated Press

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When it comes to receiving the swine flu vaccine, Wall Street appears to outrank children.

That’s right: Some of New York City’s largest employers — including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, the Federal Reserve Bank and Columbia University — are among the first to get doses of the vaccine.

The government-funded vaccine is being distributed to states, where health departments decide where to send the limited doses. In New York, health officials are allowing businesses with on-site medical staff to apply for the vaccine. But once they get the doses, they can vaccinate only high-risk employees, such as pregnant women and those with chronic illnesses.

Last month, the city began offering vaccine to schoolchildren, as well as the offices of pediatricians and obstetricians who asked for it. A state health department official said only half the pediatricians in New York City had requested vaccine, and large employers were “a great avenue for vaccinating people at risk.”

But a critic said Wall Street firms shouldn’t have access to the vaccine before less wealthy Americans.

“Wall Street banks have already taken so much from us.…” union official John VanDeventer wrote on the Service Employees International Union Web site. “But they should not be allowed to take away our health and well-being.”

| The Associated Press

Posted on Thu, Nov. 05, 2009 10:51 PM

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