Swedish Critical Care providers say they didn’t get vaccine right away
Dec 17, 2020, 5:02 PM | Updated: Dec 18, 2020, 12:14 pm
Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Critical Care providers at Swedish Medical Center say they were not included in the first round of invitations to get COVID vaccines — despite the fact that they work closely with coronavirus patients every day.
The Critical Care group encompasses Swedish First Hill, Cherry Hill, Issaquah, and Edmonds, according to one Critical Care worker who wished to remain anonymous. Critical Care refers to physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants working in the ICU — the same people who intubate COVID patients.
Internal communications between Swedish and critical care workers that were obtained by KIRO Radio show that most of the Critical Care providers were later invited to sign up for vaccines on Wednesday, though as of Wednesday afternoon, some said that they still had not received the invitation. They will receive those vaccines days after their ICU colleagues who were included in the initial round.
One Critical Care provider who spoke with KIRO Radio noted that her colleagues in Oncology were invited to receive the vaccine before the entire Critical Care team, despite the fact that the Oncology floors are COVID-free. She emphasized that it is very important to vaccinate Oncology workers because they work with immuno-compromised cancer patients, but she noted that those working directly with coronavirus patients should come first.
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An explanation for the delay was not given by Swedish management in the communications.
Some of the Critical Care workers said that they are upset over the lack of transparency, and that they worry that others working with COVID patients — such as ER physicians and anesthesiologists — are also not all able to get access to the vaccine right away.
In an email to KIRO Radio, Swedish did not answer whether a mistake had occurred to leave the Critical Care workers off of the initial list. However, the email did note that hundreds of caregivers had been vaccinated so far, and that the vaccines from the first shipment should cover 3,500 people.
“We expect thousands of doses next week and are opening up additional appointments the moment more vaccine is available,” the email stated. “We are on track to meet our goal of vaccinating every Swedish caregiver and provider who wants the vaccine in the coming weeks. This is a high point for our organization in the fight against COVID, and we’re optimistic we will vaccinate all our caregivers in the coming weeks.”
