On Thursday, the Director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange county said that two women had been arrested when they were trying to get second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. They had dressed a “grannies.” The Sheriff’s office said that their ages were 44 and 34.
Dr. Raul Pino said that the women were wearing bonnets, gloves and glasses. They also had valid vaccine cards showing that they had received the first shot. Health officials have no clue as to how these women got the first dose and are not sure if they had dressed in a similar manner to get it.
Dr. Pino has said that they have increased security around vaccination site as the vaccines are “hot commodities” and they have to be careful with the funds and resources that they have received. Severe storms across the U.S. this winter have delayed the shipment of vaccines to Florida.
As of now Florida has prioritized the vaccine for adults who are 65 and more. Other categories for vaccines include long-term care facility residents and healthcare workers who have direct contacts with patients.
Florida is a state with a fairly large residential population of the elderly and with the shortage of doses when compared with the demands, health authorities need to be prepared that the vulnerable get the doses as a priority.
CNN contacted the Sheriff’s office in Orange County and health officials confirmed that they had to issue trespassing warnings to the women. It was noted that the names matched but their dates of birth did not match the ones they had used to register for the vaccines. The office did not provide additional information about how the women were dressed or whether they were in disguise.