As Hospitals Roll Out COVID-19 Vaccines, Health Care Workers Describe Chaos And Anger

Health care workers across the country have started receiving COVID-19 vaccines, but doctors and nurses at some of the nation's top hospitals are raising the alarm, charging that vaccine distribution has been unfair and a chaotic "free-for-all."

At hospitals in Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, California and elsewhere, medical professionals say that those with the most exposure to COVID-19 patients are not always the first to get vaccinated. And others who have little or no contact with COVID-19 patients have received vaccinations.

"It definitely feels a little bit like a slap in the face," said Jennifer DeVincent, who has been a neonatal intensive care unit nurse in the prestigious Mass General Brigham hospital system for 16 years and attends deliveries with coronavirus-positive mothers.

At Mass General Brigham, the plan was for hospital staff to use an app to sign up for vaccinations. Everyone is sorted into different "waves" meant to prioritize those most at risk. However, the plan relies on the honor code, and internal emails obtained by NPR instruct employees to "self-police."