Governor Inslee Rebukes Hospital System After Donors Given Access To Vaccines

SEATTLE (AP) – A Seattle-area hospital system was rebuked by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee after it offered COVID-19 vaccination appointments to big donors.

The Seattle Times reports Overlake Medical Center & Clinics emailed about 110 donors last week who gave more than $10,000 to the hospital system, telling them that vaccine slots were available.

The email gave the donors an access code to register for appointments “by invite” only.

At the same time the public-facing Overlake registration site was fully booked through March.

The medical center’s chief operating officer said the invitation was a quick-fix solution after the hospital’s scheduling system failed.

Overlake shut down online access to the invite-only clinic after getting a call from Inslee’s staff.