NJ Hospital Gave COVID Vaccine To Donors, Relatives, Report Says

HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy reacted with disgust to an NJ101.5 report that claims a New Jersey hospital gave the COVID-19 vaccine to wealthy donors and relatives of executives before they were eligible.

The NJ101.5 report reported that Hunterdon Medical Center was distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to "deep-pocketed" donors and the relatives of executives weeks before the state began opening eligibility. The report also said the officials' young-adult children were able to get the shot.

You can read the whole NJ101.5 report here.

NJ101.5 asked Murphy for reaction to the report during his Wednesday news conference, and the governor said: "Disgusting."

"If that turns out to be the case and they volitionally did that in the face of guidance that was crystal clear, that's incredibly offensive," Murphy said.

"We have confirmed that at least 99.6 percent of the doses Hunterdon Healthcare has administered so far have gone to prioritized healthcare workers, clinicians, seniors, and at-risk individuals. In the remaining few instances during Phase 1A (prior to Jan. 18), when additional Hunterdon Healthcare employees or physicians wanting the vaccine could not be located before a vaccine dose expired, we vaccinated volunteers who were easily contacted and immediately available, including family members of clinic staff, board members, community members, and family members of the leadership team. This was in keeping with a protocol approved by the Department of Health," stated Hunterdon Medical Center in a release.

"We believed, and still believe, that it was better to vaccinate someone immediately available to us than to allow any vaccine to go to waste. In no case did we prioritize a donor, board member, or executive over an eligible clinician, senior, or at-risk individual who was available to receive a vaccination," stated Hunterdon Medical Center.

The governor said he does recall being asked early on if hospital executives fall under the 1A category, and there was a question as to whether a board member should be considered in the same category as a medical doctor or a private citizen.

"I think there was some legitimate question in the first days. If this is volitional, it's completely unacceptable," he said.

Murphy said if people "monkey around like that, it's going to impact the amount of doses that they're going to get going forward from us."

Murphy acknowledged during his Monday news conference that New Jersey is inundated with demand for the coronavirus vaccine — and he's urging patience and says he's searching for fixes because of the state's vaccine shortage.

The shortage is so bad that the Gloucester County mega-site ran out of vaccines on Monday and wasn't able to make appointments, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. Read more: No 2nd Dose Appointments Made At COVID-19 Vaccine 'Mega Site'

The Meadowlands mega-site ran out, too, and was closed on Tuesday. Read more: 2 Mega-Sites, Including Meadowlands, Close COVID Vaccines