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Too Big to Get the Flu?

By Pat Racimora on November 6, 2009 at 11:30 PM in Current Affairs, Health Care, Influenza Pandemic

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First the taxpayers’ treasure was raided to bail out Wall Street firms. Now it’s happening to 13 of them again, this time by putting their employees ahead of the highest risk groups among us ordinary folks to receive the H1N1 vaccine. Melanie Sloan, the Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington put it best: “In what world do Wall Street employees deserve to be vaccinated ahead of high-risk children, pregnant women and health care workers?”

So, while millions of our vulnerable citizens falling into the Center for Disease Control’s high risk category are still waiting for vaccinations to become available, some fat cats have pushed their way to the head of the line again.

Business Week reports:

A spokeswoman for Goldman, who asked not to be named, said the company had just received the vaccine and did not yet have information as to how it would be distributed, saying that Goldman will supply vaccine only to those who qualify as high-risk, per the CDC requirements. Citigroup had not responded with a comment as of the evening of Nov. 2.

However, as CREW Director Sloan so slyly responds:

Although CREW has been unable to uncover the demographic makeup of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase, it seems safe to assume the vast majority of their employees are not pregnant women, infants and children, young adults up to 24 years old, and healthcare workers.

How did this happen? No one appears to be talking yet, except, perhaps, money.