Monroe Review

In recent weeks, several Michigan hospital systems have found themselves facing an issue with COVID-19 vaccinations: people seemingly jumping the line to get vaccinated, even though they don't belong to the priority group that's currently eligible.

At least one health system has taken steps to close the loopholes. The state’s largest hospital system saw a surge of thousands of people signing up for vaccinations in early February. When Beaumont Hospital was notified of what they called a “backdoor shortcut” in their system that allowed individuals under the age of 65 to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations, the hospital shut down the portal briefly and cancelled 2,700 appointments that never should have been made.

Beaumont had sent randomized invitations for individuals with online Beaumont accounts to sign up for vaccinations. About half of the 2,700 individuals whose appointments were cancelled were under the age of 65 and not part of Michigan’s current priority group, according to Hans Keil, the senior vice president and chief information officer for Beaumont Hospital.

“But we took the stance that it wasn't fair to be cutting in line no matter if you're qualified or not,” Keil said, according to Bridge Michigan. “We're really trying to be careful and have an ethical framework in that regard.”

Beaumont is not the only organization having this issue in recent weeks. Hillsdale Hospital gave unused COVID-19 vaccines to Hillsdale College faculty and staff who were not in the priority age group. The hospital explained that it had received double the vaccines ordered for its staff members, and instead of stockpiling them or letting them go to waste, the hospital shared the vaccines with the college and with long-term care facilities who had not yet received vaccination doses.

“When we had remaining vaccines, we had two choices: leave them in a freezer until the state moved tiers or come up with a plan to use them as quickly as possible,” hospital president and CEO J.J. Hodshire said, according to Bridge Michigan.

Sparrow Hospital in Lansing has also been criticized for running a limited clinic, which allowed Lansing’s mayor, Andy Schor, to be vaccinated, as well as city employees, before the general public, including those in the priority group. 

Community partners -- like the city of Lansing, a food bank and school districts, among others -- received an invitation for any staff member to come to a small vaccine clinic if they were part of the 18 priority groups, including teachers, police and firefighters, according to John Foren, Sparrow spokesman. He said the hospital put the responsibility on the partner groups to ensure that only individuals in the priority group were eligible. He also said that lab staff is too busy with paperwork and vaccinations to cast a critical eye and serve as the “vaccination police.”