Sisolak says ‘line-jumping’ by government workers was ‘unfair’

Gov. Steve Sisolak has harshly criticized vaccine distribution practices in Southern Nevada that allowed young employees of local governmental agencies to receive COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of older Nevadans at higher risk for serious illness.

The governor said he took “great exception” to what he described as “line jumping” by city and county government employees who, under the guidance of the state’s playbook for vaccine distribution, should not have been eligible for early access to vaccine.

“What was most offensive about that is … that meant that there wasn’t the vaccine for somebody that really needed it,” the governor said in an interview with the Review-Journal late Friday.

“There wasn’t vaccine for somebody that was 80 years old with an underlying condition because a 22-year-old that didn’t need it right away went and got it because they worked for the city or county,” he continued.

“That’s not fair. And I took great exception to that.”

Priority to government workers

On Jan. 18, vaccine eligibility in Clark County was extended beyond health care workers and first responders to teachers and some members of an occupational category called “continuity of governance,” defined by the state’s playbook as including state, local and other elected officials and support staff. The move came a few days after those 70 and older became eligible.

A bottleneck at the time made vaccination appointments frustratingly difficult to come by, with older residents recounting long, fruitless searches on online appointment portals at all times of day and night.

The stated intent in the playbook is that not all government employees qualify for early access to vaccinations. It says that an employee who can work remotely or socially distanced is not recommended to receive early access to vaccine. Each government is given the discretion to decide whether an employee truly cannot avoid close and prolonged contact with others, seeking to conserve limited vaccine allocations for individuals facing higher risk.

Yet by early February, doses had been offered to every individual employed by Clark County and city of Las Vegas governments, including those working remotely, along with most workers for the city of Henderson and at least half of the workforce for North Las Vegas. County government employs more than 10,000 people, and the city of Las Vegas about 2,700. Those ages 65 to 69 were not offered vaccine until Feb. 22. Younger people with underlying health conditions still remain ineligible.

City of Las Vegas officials said they had made a good faith effort to follow the rules.

“All I can assure you is, to the very best of our ability and while I have been mayor, we have absolutely adhered to the edicts coming down from our governor,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said Tuesday.

Clark County officials did not respond to requests for comment on the governor’s remarks.

‘Very flexible’ on rules

The health district has been “very flexible” in determining who is eligible as a “front line” worker as long as their industry is eligible, Dr. Fermin Leguen, the district’s chief health officer, said in an interview Monday.

Once an industry is eligible, “We have been providing a vaccine to all people who come from that industry, for the most part,” he said. “We have, I would say, expanded the criteria in terms of vaccine administration when people show up and say they belong to any of those industries.”

As for government workers, they could be asked to participate in the front-line response to the pandemic, regardless of job title, Leguen said. All health district employees were offered early access to vaccine for this reason.

“For an outsider like the health district to make that determination, whether the city is vaccinating somebody improperly or not, is very challenging,” he said. “So, that’s something that they have to control from within.”

In an email Tuesday, Sisolak sounded conciliatory. He praised local leaders for working with the state to implement the largest vaccination campaign in state history.

“I know that our local leaders want nothing more than to get vulnerable populations vaccinated, in addition to ensuring frontline workers in local government who provide critical services to Nevadans during this crisis have access as well,” he said.

“The reality is that every state is trying to navigate vaccine distribution and administration in an unprecedented situation with a limited number of doses, and everyone is doing the best they can.”

‘Line skipping’

Sisolak first called out “line skipping” on Feb. 5, saying in a YouTube video that “individuals who have been able to work from home should not be accessing the vaccine before front-line workers or senior citizens.”

“It’s simple. The playbook makes that abundantly clear,” he continued. “I do not blame those that have been offered a vaccine for taking that opportunity. The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of those in leadership positions.”

The governor noted at the time that neither he nor his staff had yet received the vaccine. “We will not do so until we are eligible. You have my word on that. We have not and will not jump the line, and others shouldn’t either. Elected officials should lead the way.”

More recently, the governor’s office conducted an internal review to determine who among staffers would be given priority for vaccinations. About 70 percent percent of the staff was deemed eligible, spokeswoman Meghin Delaney said in an email. Vaccinations began to be administered to eligible staff in Northern Nevada on Feb. 25. Vaccination scheduling for staff in Southern Nevada began last week.

“The Governor’s Office understands that it has the obligation to operate under the highest standards when it comes to vaccinating staff members in accordance with the state playbook,” Delaney said.

The governor, who had a mild case of the coronavirus in November, has yet to receive the vaccine.

“The Governor, who is eligible both due to his age and his occupation, will be announcing where and when he will be getting his vaccine in the near future,” the governor’s office said in a news release Friday.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writers Michael Scott Davidson and Shea Johnson contributed to this report.