A SoulCycle instructor who received a COVID vaccine in New York sparks fears that people who are rich and well-connected could jump the line
Stacey Griffith has been one of the top instructors at SoulCycle in New York for over a decade. Her classes are consistently sold out, which means, according to Vox, that she earns $ 800 per 45-minute lesson. And last week, Griffith shared an Instagram post saying she was getting the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine by classifying herself as an ‘educator’. Amid a chaotic vaccine rollout, this was what we all feared would happen – that the wealthy and well-connected would misuse meshes to skip the vaccine line.
“Now I can teach SoulCycle with a little more confidence that everything will be fine,” Griffith wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post, thanking five people who helped her “fill out online forms” and “submit paperwork.” To get the vaccine.
Griffith was vaccinated in New York City’s Staten Island neighborhood, which is in Phase 1B of the city’s health department for vaccine rollout. That means that currently health workers, grocery workers, residents over 65 and teachers are eligible for vaccination. As a SoulCycle instructor, Griffith is not eligible in New York City, but she told news outlets that she claimed on her forms that she is an “ educator ” working on “ getting my community and their respiratory systems running at full capacity so they can beat this virus if infected by it. “
Griffith was heavily criticized in the comments on her Instagram post before removing it. People rightly wanted to know why they were more likely to receive a vaccine than people who need it because of their age, existing health problems or high-risk work environments. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio even spoke about the scandal at a press conference last weekend.
“Doesn’t sound like someone who should have been vaccinated for me,” he said. “I don’t think anyone who shows up and says, ‘Hey, I’m a SoulCycle Instructor’ should have qualified unless there’s some other factor.”
SoulCycle has released a statement distancing itself from Griffith and discouraging its employees from claiming to be educators to get vaccinated.
“Stacey Griffith was acting in a personal capacity to apply for a NY State COVID-19 vaccine,” the statement read. “SoulCycle does not play a role in organizing or obtaining vaccinations for instructors or other employees, nor do we encourage our SoulCycle employees to seek vaccination priority as educators.”
SoulCycle CEO sent a memo to staff that read, “… SoulCycle instructors do not qualify as educators to receive the vaccine based solely on their role at SoulCycle and should not attempt to receive the vaccine unless they are otherwise eligible to do so based on applicable state regulations. “