Pharmaceutical retail giant Rite Aid apologized to two undocumented immigrants who, according to the company, did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine “by mistake” in Southern California stores.
Both women, who did not receive the vaccine in separate incidents this month, were invited back by Rite Aid to receive their vaccines, a pharmacy chain spokesman told ABC News on Sunday.
Rite Aid spokesman Christopher Savarese described both cases as “isolated” incidents resulting from store workers who did not follow established protocols for vaccine eligibility. Employees will be re-educated about the protocols to ensure that everyone is on the same page, he said.
“We administered more than 1.2 million vaccines and we had two of those complaints,” said Savarese on Sunday.
In a statement later sent to ABC News, Rite Aid officials said, “In an unprecedented implementation, there will be errors and there will always be areas for providers to improve – we are looking for these opportunities every day.”
Savarese added: “It is very important for us that this is corrected. Both of the situations we are talking about have been resolved and both people will receive their vaccine at Rite Aid.”
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Rite Aid apologized after the son of one of the women and the employer of the other, who is a nanny, spoke at ABC’s KABC station in Los Angeles.
Sebastian Araujo, a UCLA student who plans to become an immigration lawyer, said his mother was rejected by Rite Aid in Mission Hills, California, after she was asked to show a Social Security card and was only able to present her consular identity foreign.
Araujo told KABC that he spoke on behalf of his mother in order to ensure that all undocumented immigrants in the United States are allowed to get the vaccine when they are eligible under state, local and federal guidelines.
“I know that my mother is not the only one,” said Araujo.
I almost forgot, but here is my mother after receiving her vaccine. thank you very much for your support. we will still advocate to ensure that no undocumented individuals are denied the secret vaccine because of their immigration status. pic.twitter.com/387tcU14Ss
– Sebastian Araujo (@sebbaaaass) March 17, 2021
Kevin Rager of Orange County told KABC that his children’s nanny, an undocumented immigrant, was brought to tears when she was rejected at a Rite Aid store twice the same day.
Rager said his employee even provided Rite Aid with out-of-state identification and a letter he wrote making sure she watches over her children. But the Rite Aid pharmacist in Laguna Niguel, according to Rager, insisted on seeing the woman’s Social Security card and inaccurately told her that the vaccine’s priority goes to American citizens.
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“These questions should not be asked of any individual, and our entire country needs to be vaccinated. So, I don’t see why someone should be denied when they really want to get a vaccine, ”said Rager.
Congressman Tony Cárdenas, who represents Los Angeles, said that a person’s legal immigration status should not interfere with the vaccination process.
“This is not a requirement at the federal, state or local level, and this organization (Rite Aid) was told very clearly that this was wrong, and they immediately apologized for doing this, but it left the woman very upset.” Cárdenas told KABC about Rager’s employee.
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On February 1, the federal Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that the agency and its “federal government partners fully support equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine distribution locations for undocumented immigrants”.
“It is a moral and public health imperative to ensure that all individuals residing in the United States have access to the vaccine. DHS encourages all individuals, regardless of immigration status, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine once they are eligible for vaccination. according to local distribution guidelines, “reads the DHS statement.
However, confusion over whether undocumented immigrants qualify for the vaccine has continued to occur not only in Southern California, but elsewhere in the country. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley issued an apology for at least 14 people who were rejected on February 20 at their vaccination site because they were unable to provide proof of residency in the United States.
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Rite Aid apologizes after undocumented migrants denied the COVID-19 vaccine originally appeared in abcnews.go.com