The city was prepared to administer 1,500 first and second doses of the coronavirus vaccine at a drive-thru and walk-up location in a parking lot near Pasadena City College. It would have been the biggest vaccination effort in the city so far.
City officials on Tuesday announced their cancellation because a record number of people not yet qualified to receive the injection used this link to make an appointment.
“Unfortunately, someone shared that in the entertainment, production or media industry and it spread like wildfire to other people,” said Lisa Derderian, the city’s public information officer.
“In one hour, we had more than 900 registrations. None of them qualified at this current level. They did not live or work in the city of Pasadena. Some had addresses more than an hour away,” she added.
The city says it does not have enough staff to call all 900 ineligible people and has instead decided to cancel the event.
Pasadena uses registration software provided by the state. Authorities say it has been a challenge to find a system that will prevent cheaters from accessing it.
California officials explain how the COVID-19 vaccine codes were shared, misused
They are asking people not to share vaccine codes and links, because this has now resulted in delays in vaccinating qualified adults.
“It takes away those who are eligible and now cannot move on. These senior populations and the other workers that we need to be vaccinated so that they can move on and (for) more vacancies next week,” said Derderian.
A new date has not been set, but the authorities hope to reschedule very soon.
People’s efforts to “skip the line” and get the vaccine before they are eligible have been repeatedly criticized by state and local health officials, but the problem remains. Los Angeles County health officials dealt with questions from people who obtained what should be safe registration codes to make appointments at vaccine clinics reserved for certain
resident groups.
The issue was highlighted when Governor Gavin Newsom showed up at a public housing development in the county, where a vaccine clinic was set up for low-income residents of the neighborhood, using a dedicated consultation registration code. Many people who attended the clinic with an appointment lived outside the area, but managed to obtain the code, preventing real residents from making appointments.
The City News Service contributed to this report.
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