Thread by @latimes

They're offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash.

They're making their personal assistants pester doctors.

To those with power and influence, rules can always be bent. latimes.com/california/sto…

With the first doses in short supply, California has laid out a strict order of vaccinations: Healthcare workers and nursing home residents, then essential workers and those with chronic health conditions, then, finally, everyone else. latimes.com/california/sto…

Watchdogs have been warning that the vaccine’s initial scarcity could create a black market, particularly if well-connected people in the healthcare industry skim off a few doses here and there for friends

But getting earlier access to the shot may not even require much backroom deal-making.

Some wealthy patients may get the shots sooner because they’re members of exclusive healthcare groups that most Americans can’t afford. latimes.com/california/sto…

Do you know anyone who is bending the rules to get the COVID-19 vaccine first?

Let us know using this form: latimes.com/california/sto…