Goldman Sachs Received H1N1 Vaccine Before Several Hospitals (GS)

We've been trying to figure out what, if any, preparations Wall Street has been taking to guard against H1N1.

For the most part, the banks have been coy about their activities.

But as noted on The Today Show this morning, several banks have been among the early recipients of H1N1 vaccine, allowing them to get ahead of hospitals in some instances.

The story was originally broken by BusinessWeek this week.

Goldman Sachs (GS) has received 200 doses in total -- the exact same as Lennox Hill hospital.

Health officials say corporate partners are always part of the distribution of any vaccine.

There's no allegation that they broke any rules, and we're still not quite sure what the whole story is -- mainly it looks like another PR snafu for Wall Street. Some are suggesting that, perhaps, the banks should have donated their allocated vaccines.

In defense of the banks, we all benefit when others are vaccinated. It's a positive, not zero-sum game.

Update: To be clear, Goldman confirms that all these decisions are made by the CDC, and that the vaccine only goes to specified high-risk individuals. In addition, as noted by the above BusinessWeek report, 29 companies including Time Warner and others have also been slected as vaccine distribution.