--- title: "The Ultra-Wealthy Are Trying to Get a Coronavirus Vaccine Early" description: "A new Bloomberg feature looks at how the ultra-wealthy are preparing for the growing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and trying to get early-access vaccines." date: "2020-03-03" modified: "2020-03-03" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/ultra-wealthy-coronavirus-vaccine-early" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "health" - "wealth" --- # The Ultra-Wealthy Are Trying to Get a Coronavirus Vaccine Early ![A new Bloomberg feature looks at how the ultra-wealthy are preparing for the growing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and trying to get early-access vaccines.]() *\Image: Jericho/Victor Tangermann\* A [fascinating new *Bloomberg* feature]() looks at how the ultra-wealthy are preparing for the growing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. A particularly grim takeaway: Some of the rich have been asking their boutique physicians whether there's any amount of money that can score them an early-access coronavirus vaccine before the huddled masses. The tidbit comes via Tim Kruse, a private doctor in the [wealthy city]() of Aspen, Colo., who told *Bloomberg* that his patients have been asking about a coronavirus vaccine — even though, you'll remember, a vaccine for the virus [doesn't even exist yet](). "The answer is no," Kruse told the magazine. "They just want to know." Other ultra-wealthy individuals have different strategies for weathering the outbreak. Some said they're staying put in urban areas, at least until the virus spreads to more of the population. One hedge fund co-founder even said he might flee to Italy — which, close virus watchers will recall, is [already suffering a major outbreak]() — with the frugal rationale that flights will be cheaper. The most common response among the affluent, though, seems to be to hide out on a remote property until the danger has passed. For people accustomed to a spacious, posh lifestyle, New York University professor Mitchell Moss told *Bloomberg*, that last option might pose its own challenges. "This is going to destroy the marriages of the rich," Moss told the magazine. "All these husbands and wives who travel will now have to spend time with the person they’re married to." ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()