In San Mateo County, 70 ineligible people have been vaccinated.
Health provider One Medical was excluded from the vaccine’s launch in five California counties after ineligible patients skipped the line to receive the coveted injection.
The distribution of vaccines has been halted in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin and Alameda counties for the national health provider based in San Francisco, after complaints that people under 65 years of age cut eligibility for state vaccines jumped ahead in line for shots.
A doctor confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that they fired several clinical staff for their “willful disregard” of eligibility requirements.
With vaccine eligibility requirements varying from state to state, loose booster and a limited number of vaccines sent to states, skipping the COVID-19 vaccine line has become a national problem.
One Medical is a primary care provider based on associates with offices across the country and charges an annual fee of $ 199. The company offers a technology-focused medical experience with virtual video visits and a mobile application to schedule appointments.
In San Mateo County, 70 ineligible people were vaccinated at One Medical sites, an investigation found after a February 5 complaint, officials told ABC News. The county subsequently terminated its contract with One Medical, classifying the shares as “disappointing”.
Marin, Santa Clara and Alameda County officials did not say how many ineligible patients may have been inoculated at One Medical centers in their counties, but they all stopped sending more dose allocations.
San Francisco officials did not disclose how many ineligible people received the vaccine, but said in a statement that “multiple doses” were administered to people under the age of 65 who falsely identified themselves as “Phase 1a health workers”.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health said it would allow One Medical to administer second doses to pre-programmed patients, but the remaining 1,600 doses sent to the provider must be returned. A doctor told ABC News that these doses were requested to be returned because other regions had a higher priority for doses, not because of “eligibility inspection procedures”.
However, there have been complaints about line failures at One Medical locations across the country, including Washington State and Los Angeles County, National Public Radio reported.
Some people who cut the line included those with connections to company leaders, NPR reported, citing leaked internal communications.
A One Medical spokesman told ABC News that they have “multiple checkpoints in place” and “routinely refuse people who do not meet the eligibility criteria” and that they have a “zero tolerance policy” for preferential treatment vaccine for ineligible people.
“We uphold our policy that no ineligible employee, member or commercial affiliate will intentionally have the opportunity to skip the line,” said the spokesman.
The spokesman said his data showed that less than 1% of doses were administered to people outside the current eligible groups and they were inoculated to use extra doses later in the day.
The problem generated a reaction among residents.
“It’s really disheartening to hear,” said Andrew Levy, a current member of One Medical, to local ABC affiliate KGO. “I have elderly parents who are struggling to get the vaccine … I find it unfortunate when they try to cheat.”
A doctor said that the problem of people skipping the queue is not unique to his company and there are no pending investigations on the matter.