While hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers wait for the COVID-19 vaccine, a surprising resident got the coveted shot: a celebrity fitness coach and a SoulCycle instructor.
“VACCINE DAY! Step one of the Moderna magic !! An hour’s drive to STATEN ISLAND is worth every minute! It takes a village, ”says Stacey Griffith, a 52-year-old fitness guru who played a role The New York Times, proudly announced in a since-deleted Instagram post.
But shortly after Griffith revealed to her 64,200 followers that she was one of approximately 850,000 New York City residents who received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, she received a furious response.
“My wife is a stage 4 cancer patient dealing with the anxiety and risk of going to a hospital cancer center every week while immunosuppressed during COVID to get the treatment that will keep her alive. She still has at least two to three months before she is eligible for a vaccine, ”noted Gabrielle Novacek, a Chicago-based consultant.
“As a caregiver she depends on to support her, I am off for at least 4-5 months. But then again, let’s celebrate making the world safe from a personal spin lesson in the midst of a global pandemic. What is left of any respect I had for Soul and the leaders it celebrates is done and gone, ”she added.
Griffith, who earns $ 800 per class according to a recent Vox story, claimed via text message that her role as an “educator” qualified her for the coveted COVID-19 vaccination.
“By having me vaccinated, the short circuit within groups can be stopped!” Griffith told The Daily Beast. “I function as a common point for many overlapping people. In my profession of health and wellness as a teacher, my daily priority is to keep my community and their respiratory systems running at full capacity so that they can defeat this virus if infected by it. I can only teach them if I am healthy myself. “
Griffith added that she had “the same opportunity as everyone else by going online and completing a questionnaire” and insisted that she was “no favors, I wasn’t paying anyone money”.
“All teachers are eligible to apply for the vaccine. My post today was to show my confidence in the system, in our government, and I hope everyone can at least feel more comfortable knowing I’ve gone through the process! she added.
Asked if all SoulCycle instructors would be eligible for the vaccine, she replied, “Absolutely not.”
According to the New York City Health Department, the city has entered Phase 1B of the vaccine rollout, making health workers, residents over 65, grocery store employees and specific types of teachers eligible for jabs. Eligible teachers include those who teach K-12, personal college instructors, and childcare group caregivers – the list does not include fitness madness teachers.
“Overall, it’s hard for us to comment on individuals because of confidentiality,” a New York City Department of Health spokesman told The Daily Beast when asked about Griffith’s jab on Friday. “I’ll see what I can find if there’s anything I can say.”
That Griffith has been vaccinated in New York, while thousands of teachers, social workers and residents with pre-existing conditions are unable to book an appointment, further illustrates the rocky rollout in the Empire State.
Thousands of teachers in New York City who are eligible for the vaccine have reported their appointments canceled due to delivery and scheduling issues. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, told the New York Post this week, about 20,000 teachers applied for appointments through the union – and another 10,000 had gone through their health care providers. But only a quarter of those 30,000 teachers had received either vaccine.
One problem, Mulgrew says, is that the city has massively canceled appointments due to vaccination shortages and scheduling issues. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed on Wednesday that Moderna’s vaccine deliveries had been delayed and that he had asked the federal government for more supplies and the ability to use second doses on first injections.
“We’ve had to reschedule 23,000 New Yorkers, telling them they won’t be able to get that appointment because of a lack of supply,” de Blasio said.
While this slow rollout could put many eligible people on waiting lists, it hasn’t exactly closed the door on young, healthy Americans – many of whom have used their connections and significant financial resources to cut the line and justify it. .
The office of the Mayor of New York and SoulCycle did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
For her part, Griffith said she deleted her message after the vitriol became overwhelming.
“I hate controversy,” she told The Daily Beast, adding, “It pains me that people get so dark and mean, I’m just trying to do the right thing and be safe.”