Just when you thought the popularity of Wall Street bankers had hit rock bottom, top US financial institutions have caused uproar for allegedly muscling their way to the front of the queue to get hold of scarce swine flu vaccines.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley were among the first employers in New York to receive shipments of the widely sought after H1N1 antidote from public health authorities this week, prompting furious attacks from political critics who claim bankers are getting privileged treatment.

Christopher Dodd, Democratic senator from Connecticut, declared himself "stunned" that top banks had received vaccines when a shortage of doses has led to lengthy queues at clinics and hospitals across the US.

"Vaccines should go to people who need them most, not people who happen to work on Wall Street," said Dodd, who wrote a letter of protest to the US health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius.

New York's health department confirmed that vaccines had been shipped to banks - Citigroup, which asked for 7,200 doses, received 1,200 while Goldman Sachs, which applied for 5,400, was given 200. A spokeswoman said distributing vaccines in workplaces would "alleviate stress and pressure from community healthcare settings and hospitals".

She said pediatric and pregnancy clinics had already received doses and that banks were among the first 50 private employers to get vaccines simply because they were among the first to apply: "They were among the first to place orders."

Seemingly taken by surprise at the reaction, banks said they had asked for doses in common with scores of other employers - including New York City's universities, healthcare companies and the media group Time Warner. The vaccines will only be administered to staff who fall into high-risk categories including pregnant women, diabetics and employees suffering from cancer or liver disease.

"Like other responsible employers in New York City, we requested the vaccine and will supply it only to employees who qualify under guidelines laid down by the Centres for Disease Control," said a Goldman Sachs spokesman.

But the spectre of bank employees being immunised at work while others wait in line at public clinics has fed into discontent about the privileged lifestyles enjoyed by those on Wall Street. Some, including those at Goldman Sachs, are expecting record bonuses this year following a swift bounce-back in the financial markets from the global financial crisis.

Anna Burger, secretary treasurer of America's biggest healthcare workers' union, the SEIU, said: "It's obscene that Wall Street bankers think they are entitled to private shipments of H1N1 vaccinations while health-care workers, pregnant women, and other at-risk Americans are either waiting in line for hours or getting turned away because of shortages."

Swine flu has been blamed for more than 600 deaths in the US and the H1N1 vaccine was rushed into production over the summer by the French drugs firm Sanofi. But factories are struggling to meet demand - so far, 31.8m doses have been made available in the US but the authorities say that as many as 159 million people are in "high priority" groups.