People aged 65 and over are eligible for the vaccine in Florida.
Two women disguised themselves as “grandparents” in a failed attempt to obtain a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Florida health officials said.
“So yesterday, we noticed that some young women came dressed as grandparents to be vaccinated a second time,” said Dr. Raul Pino, director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, during a news conference on Thursday. “So, I don’t know how they escaped the first time.”
The women attended the Orange County Convention Center wearing hats, gloves and glasses – “the whole thing,” said Pino. They are in their 30s and 40s, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which would make them ineligible to receive vaccination outside a health care facility or long-term care facility.
Both had valid vaccination cards for the first injection, but on the second attempt, there were problems with driver’s licenses, Pino said.
MPs issued invasion notices to the two women after their birth dates “did not match those they had used to register for vaccines,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “The names, however, corresponded to the record.”
The sheriff’s office identified the women as Olga Monroy-Ramirez, 44, and Martha Vivian Monroy, 34.
No further police action was taken, the sheriff’s office said, adding, “And we have no information on whether they were wearing disguises or how they were dressed.”
There have been a few cases of people falsely presenting themselves to receive a dose, said Pino, adding that it is probably “taller than we suspect”.
The county increased security at the vaccination site to “stop any possible bad intentions that anyone might have,” said Pino.
“This is the hottest commodity that exists at the moment,” said the director. “So we have to be very careful about the funds and resources that are provided to us.”
In addition to health professionals, residents and employees of long-term care facilities, people 65 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine in Florida. Nearly 45% of that population was vaccinated in Orange County, officials said on Thursday.
Last month, Florida began demanding proof of residency for COVID-19 vaccinations in selected counties, due to concerns about “vaccine tourism” after eligibility was open to anyone aged 65 and over.
Expanded eligibility resulted in long lines, with some elderly people even camping overnight on lawn chairs in the hope of being vaccinated.
As of Thursday, Florida had administered approximately 3.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Will Gretsky, Kevin Kraus and Erin Schumaker of ABC News contributed to this report.