Two Florida women, both below the age of 45, were busted on Wednesday while they posed as grannies and tried to enter a Covid-19 vaccination site to con their way into getting a vaccine shot. The incident was caught on the bodycam of a police officer deputed at the vaccination center.
The age cut-off to be prioritized to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida is 65, according to Raul Pino, the director of the health department in Orange County. Although both the women were denied the jab after being exposed, it at the same time also shows the growing interest among people in taking the vaccine.
Jumping the Line
According to authorities, the two women registered for the vaccines online, claiming they were over 65 and then turned up for appointments in 'disguise' of two grannies. The video footage shows that the two women confidently trying to enter the Orlando Convention Center on Wednesday without anyone trying to raise any suspicion. The con initially worked as the pair was carrying CDC cards confirming they had already had the first dose. The first woman is seen wearing what resembles a shower cap, a long cardigan, a face mask and a face shield.
The other, however, still looked a shade younger as she left all of her brown hair loose and wore a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. However, the con didn't last long as health workers after scrutinizing their IDs found one of the women to be 44 years old, while the other was only 34 although their names were the same as registered only.
This at the same time proves that healthcare workers didn't check their age when they gave them the first shots of the vaccine, while means the pair had earlier also faked their age for the vaccine shots.
Narrow Escape
Cops immediately realized that the women were trying to fake their age and detained them. "Do you know what you have done?! You have stolen a vaccine from someone who needs it more than you. And you are not going to get your second one so it's a whole waste of time we've just wasted here on this. We're not even sure if they're going to press charges against you and take you to jail right now. So, we're at that point. Just for your selfishness of stealing a vaccine," one of the healthcare workers can be heard in the video footage released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
A few moments later, the two women can be seen standing in front of officers. Luckily, the two were not pressed with any charges and were let off with trespassing warnings. While there have been reports of people hesitant about taking the Covid-19 vaccine shot, this incident also shows the growing interest among many people who want to take the jab.
"This is the hottest commodity that is out there right now so we have to be very careful," Pino said at a press briefing Thursday. Last month, authorities identified a wealthy Canadian couple who had posed as locals in a remote Indigenous community to take doses meant for elders.
Also, earlier this month, an Indiana health department issued a warning against what they called "a substantial lack of morality" after people had lied to vaccination site workers about their addresses, jobs and ages. Pino said there have been a "few" cases of people trying to trick health workers into getting vaccinated, including a man who had the same name as his elderly father.
