Wealthy patients scramble for a vaccine: 'If I donate $25,000 ... would that help me?' [View all]

[Zorro]

Concierge doctor’s offices are stocking up with ultra-low temperature freezers and are being inundated with calls from well-heeled clients

They’re offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making their personal assistants pester doctors every day, and asking whether a five-figure donation to a hospital would help them jump the line.

The COVID-19 vaccine is here — and so are the wealthy people who want it first.

“We get hundreds of calls every single day,” said Dr. Ehsan Ali, who runs Beverly Hills Concierge Doctor. His clients, who include Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, pay between $2,000 and $10,000 a year for personalized care. “This is the first time where I have not been able to get something for my patients.”

With the first doses in short supply, California has laid out a strict order of vaccinations based on need and risk: Healthcare workers and nursing home residents, then essential workers and those with chronic health conditions, then, finally, everyone else.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/story/2020-12-18/wealthy-patients-scramble-covid-19-vaccine