The Mobile County Health Department confirmed on Thursday and Friday that it had distributed doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to people who were not entitled to receive it.
The doses were administered during a “grand opening” earlier this week at a mass vaccination clinic scheduled for Saturday at the Alabama Cruise Terminal in downtown Mobile. And health officials will ensure that only those eligible will receive a vaccine at that clinic.
“They were taking advantage of the situation,” said Mark Bryant, a spokesman for the Mobile County Health Department. “It was supposed to be by invitation just the other day.”
Dr. Rendi Murphree, director of the Department of Disease Surveillance and Environmental Studies at the Mobile County Department of Health, said during a news update on Facebook on Thursday that “we have not been perfect” with the smooth launch of the administration of vaccine.
It is not clear how many people who were not eligible to receive a vaccine received it during the soft opening events. The Health Department will make another update on Facebook at 2:30 pm today.
“People who were not truthful about age deceive our analysts by saying that they had special permission from the doctor’s office or the Department of Health,” said Murphree, in describing the people who received the vaccine this week, but were not eligible for it. “We are working to refine these processes to ensure that the vaccines we are administering are in the current Phase 1A, for all first responders and people aged 75 and over.”
The mass vaccination clinic on Saturday will be for people aged 75 and over from 8:30 am and open until 1:30 pm. From 1:30 pm to 8:30 pm, the first respondents will be able to have an injection.
Bryant said the Department of Health will ensure that people “don’t even have permission to enter” the clinic on Saturday at the cruise terminal, and Murphree said the Department of Health is recommending that people qualified to receive the vaccine be 75 and older. up, limit the number of people who are with them when they arrive at the terminal.
“We expect long waits,” she said. “If you are in the age group (eligible for the vaccine), try not to bring in too many people who are not eligible for vaccination. We are trying to keep the numbers low so that we can promote social distance. “
Bryant said soft opening events are needed to ensure the department is prepared to handle the distribution of 1,000 Modern vaccines on Saturday. She said 500 of the vaccines will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to people over 75. He said people will need to bring proper identification with them before they can receive the injection.
He also denounced the accusations raised on a TV news that the vaccine was given to anyone who came to a “secret clinic”. He said that the wife of Mobile County health officer, Dr. Bernard Eichold, has not yet received a vaccine and that “if we distributed one to everyone we wanted, she would have had the vaccine. She is waiting like everyone else for her turn. “
The cruise terminal clinic represents the first mass vaccination effort off the coast of Alabama since vaccines were made available before the Christmas holiday.
This is after news emerged illustrating how bleak Alabama’s vaccination rate was during the initial launch. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina have less than 2% of their population with the first dose of the vaccine, according to data from the states and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Thursday, the city of Mobile and U.S. health officials started a drive-thru vaccination clinic at the Mobile Civic Center. But the clinic is conducting follow-up visits for people who are receiving their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only vaccine the site is currently dealing with. It is unclear when scheduled vaccinations will begin.
People who show up for the vaccine on Saturday need not be residents of Mobile County. But health officials hope to be able to focus more on county residents in the coming weeks.
A Baldwin County vaccination clinic will be available from 9 am to 3 pm on January 19, 21, 26 and 28 at the Daphne Civic Center. The county, in conjunction with the Alabama Department of Public Health, will allow on-site parking and registration for residents age 75 and older, first responders and healthcare professionals.
Authorities said they plan to vaccinate at least 60 people an hour, two days a week, for the next two weeks.