Martha Stewart Was Accused Of “Jumping The Line” To Get The COVID Vaccine, And She Responded On Instagram

Now, it’s worth noting that Martha is 79 years old, and as of yesterday, people in New York above the age of 65 are eligible to receive the vaccine. So Martha was perfectly within her rights to get the shot…but many commenters on Instagram were angry about it nonetheless.

“I guess the rich come first,” wrote one commenter. “I like and have followed you for over 30 years, but this isn’t [right].”

“How the hell is Martha considered front line???” wondered another commenter.

Several commenters noted that Martha was able to receive the vaccine before vulnerable members of their families were:

And a few healthcare workers in the comments shared that they haven’t been able to get the vaccine yet:

Basically, people just had lots of questions about how Martha was able to get the vaccine so soon, and called out her privilege as a likely factor. (I mean, she got vaccinated at a medical center literally named after her, so there’s almost certainly some truth to that argument.)

Well, Martha has now addressed these criticisms in the caption of her post.

“I am so proud of and grateful to the doctors, nurses, and medical staff who are wading through the red tape and confusion of the distribution of these very important vaccines,” Martha wrote. “I am excited to have received my dosage and look forward to the booster.”

“The doctors told me 10,000 applications were received by Mount Sinai right after the state released this batch of vaccines. Here’s to the advancement of science and a heartfelt thanks to those working on the vaccines. We are all hoping for an end to this pandemic.”

And Martha ended her message by responding to those who implied she “jumped the line” by receiving her shot.

“To allay your concerns that I jumped the line know that I am in the approved age group for this batch of vaccines and I waited in line with others.”