- The Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the United States has left a lot to be desired, and it hasn’t happened nearly as fast as everyone had hoped.
- Desperate to get the vaccine sooner rather than later, a pair of Florida residents dressed up as elderly women in an attempt to trick vaccination site employees into administering the vaccine to them.
- The women were caught, but the story got even weirder from there.
If you’re a normal, sane human that hasn’t yet been vaccinated for Covid-19, you probably wish you could get it. I mean, it’s a deadly pandemic that has claimed literally millions of lives around the globe, and it’s still raging in the United States. The vaccine rollout has been slower than many had hoped, and some people are apparently willing to try some very interesting things in a desperate attempt to get the shot and prevent themselves from falling ill.
As CNN reports, two Florida women were recently caught at a Covid-19 vaccination site in Orange County meant for individuals at a higher risk of severe symptoms. The women made themselves up to appear elderly, complete with bonnets and glasses to hide much of their faces. The women were 34 and 44 years of age, and once vaccination site staff realized what was going on, the women were prevented from getting their shot. If you can believe it, that isn’t even the weirdest part of the story.
The women, who were trying to take advantage of the state’s priority vaccination queue for individuals 65 and older, weren’t there for the first dose of the vaccine, but the second. Somehow, the women had managed to already get their first shot, though authorities aren’t sure how.
The pair had vaccine cards showing that they had already received their first shot, and a check revealed the cards to be valid. Somehow, the women had scammed their way into getting the first round of the vaccine earlier this year and had returned for their second dose. The women apparently wouldn’t reveal how they got the first round of shots, but officials say it’s possible they tried the same trick to appear older previously and successfully pulled it off.
Orange County Sherrif’s Office officers were summoned to the vaccination site by staff after it was revealed that the women had birth dates that differed from what was on their registration information. The names were consistent, but it was clear that the women weren’t nearly as old as they claimed to be, and in addition to being denied the second dose of the vaccine, the women were given trespassing warnings and told not to return.
The prioritization of the Covid-19 vaccines can lead to frustration, but it’s important to remember why the system is set up the way it is. Elderly individuals and those with compromised immune systems are at a much higher risk of developing serious complications, and they need it more than healthy young adults.
