At least two recent incidents where undocumented women in Southern California were denied the COVID-19 vaccination led activists and others on Thursday to point out that such denials go against the public health board – and generated an apology from Rite -Aid, the pharmacy chain involved in the denials.
“It is unacceptable, absolutely abhorrent, for any for-profit entity, or any other entity, to deny vaccination to any human being simply because they do not have immigration status,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the immigrant’s Coalition for Human Rights.
Rite Aid spokesman Chris Savarese on Thursday described the two cases as “isolated incidents and errors” among about 1 million vaccines that the pharmacy has distributed. In both situations, Rite Aid offered women new vaccination schedules and since then, both have received an injection.
“At Rite Aid, our priority is to administer the COVID-19 vaccines we receive as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible, based on local eligibility criteria. 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, ”said Savarese in an e-mailed statement.
Rite Aid officials have been told that if clients seeking vaccines are not identified, they should not be refused, wrote Savarese.
But before Rite Aid’s apology last week, employees at at least two pharmacies denied people access to protection because they were unable to provide a social security number.
Sebastian Araujo, a UCLA student, said he was initially thrilled a few weeks ago when he received a call from a Rite Aid pharmacy about extra vaccines for COVID-19, relieved that his parents were given critical protection.
But when they arrived at the Mission Hills pharmacy in the San Fernando Valley earlier this month, a pharmacist told his mother that she could not have an injection because she was an undocumented immigrant.
“The first thing they asked was ‘Do you have health insurance’. Then they asked for the Social Security number, ”said Araujo, a UCLA student. “My parents and I looked at each other and my father said, ‘Isn’t that discrimination against people without documents?'”
Then, the pharmacy team listened to his mother three times in Spanish: “People without documents are not going to get the vaccine”.
A few days later, a similar scene took place in Laguna Niguel, where a woman was denied the vaccine at a Rite Aid because she was unable to provide a Social Security number.
None of the women felt comfortable returning to the original pharmacy that rejected them. Both said they felt humiliated when their immigration status was questioned in front of other clients. They both left the pharmacies crying.
Kevin and Yesenia Rager, Costa Mesa residents, with their children Even, 5, and Jaden, 10 months, helped the nanny after she was denied COVID-19 vaccination at a Rite Aid pharmacy in Laguna Niguel because she has no social insurance number. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
In the San Fernando Valley incident, after Araujo went to social media to publicize what happened to his mother, a Rite Aid representative called to apologize and set up another meeting for March 16.
“Then, days later, we heard it happened again,” said Araujo.
On March 18, the Laguna Niguel woman said she was also asked to provide health insurance information and a Social Security number as proof of identification at a Rite Aid on Crown Valley Parkway. She was informed that vaccines were being prioritized for American citizens.
“I was very ashamed,” said the woman, who has lived in Orange County for 20 years and asked that her name not be divulged because of her immigrant status. “]
While at the pharmacy, the woman called her employer, Yesenia Rager, who spoke with the pharmacist.
“What’s up?” She asked him.
“Your employee does not have a Social Security number and we are giving priority to American citizens,” said Yesenia Rager.
The woman has been a nanny to the Rager family for five years, since the birth of her eldest son.
Kevin Rager said he got the same response from different people he spoke to at the pharmacy, so he contacted the corporate office at Rite Aid. Soon, he got an apology and an appointment for the woman, who was eligible for the vaccine as a caregiver.
“It got me thinking, how many other times have they managed to get away with it?”
Vaccines are available to anyone who meets certain eligibility criteria. The newest criterion, announced on Thursday, expands the group of eligible people to everyone aged 50 and over as of April 1, and everyone aged 16 and over as of April 15. Vaccines are free and proof of insurance is not required.
On Thursday, representatives from St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles joined several labor, immigrant and civic organizations for a vaccination clinic and a press conference outside the Los Angeles County Labor Federation office to report the two incidents. They encouraged immigrants to register for a COVID-19 vaccine and reminded everyone that vaccines are available to everyone, regardless of immigration status.
Community leaders who met for the press conference on Thursday said they want to see the state take more steps to prioritize essential workers, many of them immigrants and minorities who have no choice but to work and are among the hardest-hit groups. during the pandemic.
Rudy Espinoza, executive director of Inclusive Action for the City, which supports street vendors, said the undocumented immigrant population was among the most vulnerable. He advised them, “Don’t let anyone reject you.”