Some NYC Businesses Receive H1N1 Vaccine

Some of New York's largest companies have received the H1N1 vaccine in the last week, BusinessWeek reports. They include Wall Street banks Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs as well as New York University and Time Warner.

City health officials say the companies are not being given special consideration, but applied for the vaccine months ago as part of their preparation for the pandemic. In all, 29 companies requested the vaccine and 13 have been supplied with it.

"It's not that they received it over someone else, it's that they placed an order," Jessica Scaperotti, press secretary for New York City's Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, told BusinessWeek. "A lot of businesses hold vaccination programs for their employees. These locations are important vehicles for vaccinating people."

The city's health department approved requests from the 29 employers after they were cleared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They are required to distribute the vaccines to the highest at-risk populations first. This demographic includes pregnant women, people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years-old, people who live with babies under 6 months old, people with health issues between 24 and 64 years old, and health and emergency workers.

Read more at businessweek.com.