December 14th, 2021, marked the one-year anniversary of the first-ever COVID-19 vaccine, which was administered to a nurse named Sandra Lindsay. The development of vaccines by three separate pharmaceutical giants—Modern, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson—took less than a year, an incredible feat in and of itself.

After Lindsay's history-making jab came the rollouts, which were intended to prioritize those at the highest risk from the coronavirus: health care workers and residents in long-term care facilities in phase 1a, then essential workers and people over the age of 75 in phase 1b, and so on down the line. But this process didn't go quite so smoothly as public health officials had hoped.

Issues With Supply and Demand

At the very beginning of the vaccine rollout in December 2020, they were shipped and administered in a fairly orderly fashion—but by early January 2021, just a few weeks later, the situation had devolved into a confusing, frustrating, wasteful mess. That's largely because of discrepancies between the guidelines set forth by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the reality of vaccine availability.

For example, some providers followed instructions to vaccinate all members of the first cohort, even if the demand wasn't there, before offering up doses to those in the later phases. In other states that had a surplus of vaccines, health officials began loosening up the restrictions on who could get the jab. Despite national calls to organize re-distribution—from places where vaccines were sitting unused in freezers to areas that were desperate to get additional doses—many state-level leaders found themselves acting in response to chaos and fear during the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

It wasn't quite a free-for-all, but the mismanagement of vaccine distribution, on both the federal and state levels, turned what should have been a well-coordinated public health initiative into something much closer to chaos.

Did Georgetown Medical Students “Line Skip”?

This meant that, early in 2021, a number of first- and second-year Georgetown University medical students were able to roll up their sleeves and get the vaccine, despite being ineligible.

Only third- and fourth-year med students qualified for vaccination at the time because of their routine interactions with patients.

Shortly after learning of the transgression, university officials announced that disciplinary actions would be taken against the students. In a statement, the school expressed its concern that their actions had broken with Georgetown’s moral standards.

“These actions run contrary to Georgetown's values as a Jesuit institution, teaching our students to be in service to others,” read the statement, adding that the school “takes violations of professionalism extremely seriously.”

The Confusing Ethics of “Line Skipping”

To some, it seemed misguided to punish people for protecting their own health against a potentially deadly disease, particularly when there were vaccine doses going unused in so many areas of the country. Others in the Georgetown community suggested that the ability of these first- and second-year students to receive vaccines in the first place pointed to systemic problems with its medical center's staffing or policy implementation.

Nevertheless, “line skipping” Is seen by bioethicists as a gray area. Stepping ahead of others who are equally or more vulnerable by stretching the definition of “essential worker” or outright lying about a medical condition is one thing. It's quite another to step forward, in the absence of other eligible recipients, to receive a dose that would otherwise go unused and be discarded.

Warnings and Violations in the COVID Era

For their part, Georgetown officials cited their intent to take disciplinary measures against the medical students as a warning to other ineligible students who might try to get vaccinated prematurely. A spokesperson for the university added that it would be implementing measures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

Are you facing similar accusations of impropriety or unethical behavior regarding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility or any kind of code of conduct violation? You deserve the chance to defend your actions, and student defense attorney Joseph D. Lento and his team at the Lento Law Firm can help you mount that defense. Tell us about your case by contacting us using this form or calling 888-535-3686.