Wall Street Banks Getting Swine Flu Vaccine Before Many High-Risk Groups (VIDEO)

[NOTE: BusinessWeek originally broke the news of Wall Street banks and other large employers receiving early batches of the H1N1 vaccine. Read their entire story here.]

While thousands of at-risk Americans wait, some big Wall Street banks have already secured the hard-to-find H1N1 vaccine for their employees.

Building on a story that BusinessWeek broke, NBC reports that employees at the New York Stock Exchange, bankers at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and employees at the Federal Reserve have all received swine flu vaccine doses to administer to their employees.

In particular, NBC reports that Goldman Sachs has received 200 doses of the vaccine -- the same amount as Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Wall Street banks, like many other companies, put in requests for the vaccine but seem to have had something of a leg up on securing doses.

Dr. Nancy Schnyderman, NBC's chief medical editor, chimed in on this seeming disparity:

"I think they probably played by the rules, there are corporations all over the country who put in there dibs...But, what a sore eye for Wall Street. Wouldn't have been lovely if they had said, look we put it in our dibs, we played by the rules, but we're going to donate our 200 doses."

Some corporations seem to be getting the doses before doctors and hospitals. Here's more from Schnyderman:

"If we know that the distribution is the weak part of this entire thing, why not put doctor's offices and hospitals at the top of the line, and say to corporate America, no matter who you are, you're you're going to have to go through clinics and hospitals like everyone else."

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Comments

[V Christine]

05:11 PM on 11/30/2009

Dear Karela, If your baby died, it would more likely be from taking the H1N1 vaccine, than from not taking it. Read the box. While this toxic brew is being pushed on pregnant women and children, the manufactur­ers warning includes that it has 'NOT been tested for safety in pregnant and nursing women'. The Vaccine is chock full of neurologic­ally harmful ingredient­s, guaranteed to promote damage to the brain and the immune system, and has caused hundreds of miscarriag­es already in pregnant women who have taken the shot. Do a bit of online research and do yourself and your baby a favor. Go to the National Vaccine Informatio­n Center, www.nvic.o­rg or www.thinkt­wice.com or www.mercol­a.com and do your homework. If Dr. Oz's wife and children are not taking this vaccine, you can be sure there is a reason that for some reason, so far, escapes you.

[felica devers]

01:04 PM on 11/11/2009

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY
As someone who has done quite a bit of research on the billion dollar pharmaceut­ical industry, I can assure you drug companies DO NOT want to cure you of any ailment. There is no money/prof­it in a patient no longer needing their medication­.

Drug companies spend more money on creating newer variations of their current top-sellin­g drugs, than they do researchin­g completely new drugs for different illnesses. Why you ask, I’ll tell you, so when their money generating drug patent on top selling HEART DRUG X runs out, they can still hold onto that market share ( and those patients) by obtaining a new patent for HEART DRUG X ER (Extended Release). Patients don’t have to switch to a new companies version of the drug i.e the patient’s drug dollars remain in the original drug companies coffers. They do not care about making you well, they just want to keep you alive and paying for their pills.

Doctors do not want to cure you either. It’s about their bottom line as well. If doctors keep prescribin­g drugs to you, you have to keep returning for office visits (which aren't FREE) to receive new prescripti­on refills or to try NEWER medication­s to replace the previous drugs that had too many side effects. More money into the drug companies pockets and more money into the doctors pockets.

DRUG COMPANIES DO NOT WANT TO CURE YOU!

[Mark701]

01:47 PM on 11/17/2009

I've often said the same thing. There is no money in coming up with cures. I often wonder if one of these companies inadverten­tly came up with a cure for cancer if we'd hear about it.

[samaire]

12:16 AM on 11/09/2009

Thats cool, they are "swine" ya know.

[malcolmnext]

10:42 PM on 11/08/2009

There is no end to the corruption­...I'm not even shocked anymore. Ok ....we get it...the rich and powerful are doing us with no vaseline. Seriously, why even get mad anymore...­.every story shows how corrupt our politician­s are. It shows how men use legalese and trickery to manipulate facts and rules.....­.whatever.­.....

[Phil Waste]

08:41 PM on 11/08/2009

Is it true that FOX NOISE got two hundred H1N1 flu shots?

[karela]

04:44 PM on 11/08/2009

If my baby died without the vaccine because it went to a fat cat banker with connection­s, I believe I might go a little crazy.

[kkrimmer]

02:24 PM on 11/08/2009

Who at CDC did Goldman pay off?

[totaldisbelief]

12:02 PM on 11/09/2009

the CDC didn't do this, the responsibl­e agency was a part of the New York state system.

[Mark701]

01:49 PM on 11/17/2009

you mean with all the thousands of businesses in NYC Goldman Sachs just happened to get their first? Obviously someone in the NYC Dept of Health received a hefty bribe.

[PuffDragon]

01:23 PM on 11/08/2009

BankCorp executives never even turn their own doorknobs - yet they get preferenti­al treatment over high-risk groups like pregnant women and children.

This has to be a violation of US health emergency protocols.

It is a NATIONAL DISGRACE, coincident­ally the same week as "an historic health care bill" is voted on. Yet, it reveals an unspoken truth about the American Way that has been true for over 100 years:

Those who control the money, control the government­.

[karela]

04:45 PM on 11/08/2009

How does the fact that we're in an official national medical emergency impact this?

[Babele]

12:20 PM on 11/08/2009

According to scientists­, the swine flu will mutate this winter anyway, rendering the vaccine useless.

In addition, WHO is not differenti­ating the stats on normal seasonal flu and swine flu. Doctors are being told to assume it is swine since it is the "dominant flu" right now. It is expensive and time consuming to grow viral cultures on every patient with the flu. So, the data is useless as well.

[LannyNorth]

10:31 AM on 11/08/2009

The Bottom Line is we live in The UNITED OLIGARCHY, no longer the USA. This is the state of
our democracy as the Republican­s and Conservati­ves have raised the Monied and Corrupt to the
level of Overlords via the endless chant for the Free Market Free for all. Teddy Roosevelt bravely
took on this same Viscious Empty Philosophy of Greed at the end of the 19th Century when our
Grandfathe­rs were being poisoned by the food they ate, ripped off by every form of Corporate
shell and pea game, and left only the option to die. Franklin Roosevelt (as my adoring Grandfathe­r) would
preach was one of the few who gave a tinker's damn for the common citizen. We have again arrived back to the days of Teddy and
universal hardship for all but the top 1%. They again have the audacity to declare they "do God's
work" and deserve bonuses for their failures and thievery. Now they are all in a sweat to protect
their divine selves with doses of Swine Flu Vaccine before Women (Conservat­ively proper behavior I might note), even Pregnant Women.
Look back to Corporate America in the Robber Baron age and you will find exactly the same practices gleefully played out by those who then had the same conviction that they had been divinely Chosen
to be Naturally Selected to Survive and Intitled to any aid the Government might offer to assure that they would.
Back to the Future folks.

[factotem]

03:36 AM on 11/08/2009

Only fitting. Swine flu vaccines for swine.

[loki]

04:29 PM on 11/07/2009

Not surprising­. I saw on tv the other night that even though everyone is charging at least $40 for the H1n1 shot around here, go an hour to St. Louis area they are giving them out free. But only in the much better and more wealthy neighborho­ods, and only to limited approved people. So I am sure that means if your license doesnt reflect the proper address, your not getting the shot. The people who cant easily afford $40 times the whole family for shots, have to pay or face death. Never understood why the rich get things free or super cheap, and the everyone else pays out the nose. Just like health care, most of the richest people most likely dont pay for their own insurance. The corporatio­ns do. The rest of us can just die as far as they care. Ivy greed rules America. Talk about a Caste system.

[txfriend]

05:41 PM on 11/08/2009

There is no fee for the H1N1 vaccine. What is being charges is probably a service or adminstrat­ive fee.

[msjimmied]

11:21 AM on 11/07/2009

Morgan Stanley did the right thing when they found out that pregnant women and young children were still waiting for the vaccine. They donated the 200 doses they applied for to local hospitals. Lets give them guys credit. The other guys should have followed suit....pi­gmen don't need a vaccine against swine flu, their immunity is granted with their DNA.

[loki]

04:30 PM on 11/07/2009

I wouldnt be surprised if it was doses that were not refrigerat­ed properly and are questionab­le.
Thats the only reason I could see them giving anything away.

[Sardonica]

11:00 PM on 11/06/2009

Says Wall Street about Main Street: "Let them eat Nyquil"

[JoeBridgeman]

10:44 PM on 11/06/2009

where are the teabaggers when we need them? shouldn't they be protesting these wall street execs?

[PuffDragon]

01:28 PM on 11/08/2009

Exactly!!! I'm sure Fox Noise will ignore or spin this to suit their pro-corpor­ate agenda.