A health official in Orlando said two women lied about their ages and dressed in “grandma” costumes in an attempt to get a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
WESH-TV and WFTV-TV in Orlando report that the incident occurred on Wednesday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, which is being used as a mass vaccination site.
Currently, the convention center is only accepting people aged 65 and over for vaccine appointments.
According to Dr. Raul Pino, director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, women arrived at the convention center and lied about their ages.
The women were not only dressed up, but also with cards issued by the CDC stating that they had already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The authorities only realized the scheme when they realized that the dates of birth provided did not match what was recorded in the registry. The names that they provided corresponding names are already in the registry.
“We noticed that some young women came dressed as grandmothers to be vaccinated a second time. I don’t know how they escaped the first time, but they came vaccinated. The caps, the gloves, the glasses and they were probably in their 20s, ”said Pino.
Pino said the health department denied women a second dose of the vaccine and referred the case to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO).
According to ABC News and WESH, the two women were actually 44 and 34 years old. The women were not arrested, but received warnings of invasion.
WESH reports that Wednesday’s incident was not the first time that health officials in Orlando caught someone lying about their age in an attempt to get vaccinated. Pino said earlier this year, authorities caught a man trying to use his elderly father’s identity to try to get a dose.