70 ineligible people were vaccinated in San Mateo County.
Healthcare provider One Medical was removed from the vaccine launch in five California counties after ineligible patients jumped in line to get the coveted shot.
Vaccine allocations have been halted in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin and Alameda counties for San Francisco’s national health care provider following complaints that people under the age of 65 in the state’s eligibility limit for vaccine jumped in line for the few photos.
A doctor confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that he had dropped several members of the clinical staff for “intentionally ignoring” eligibility requirements.
As vaccine eligibility requirements vary from state to state, poor arming and a limited number of vaccines shipped to states, skipping the COVID-19 vaccine line has become a national problem.
One Medical is a primary care provider based on membership, based nationwide 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 locations, an investigation found following a February 5 complaint, officials told ABC News. Subsequently, the county terminated its contract with One Medical, calling the actions “disappointing”.
Marin, Santa Clara and Alameda County officials did not say how many ineligible patients could have been inoculated at One Medical Centers in their counties, but all stopped sending additional dose allocations.
San Francisco officials did not disclose how many ineligible people received the vaccine, but said in a statement that “a number of doses” were given to people under the age of 65 who had falsely identified themselves. as “Phase 1 health workers”.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health said it will allow One Medical to administer the second dose to pre-scheduled patients, but the remaining 1,600 doses sent to the provider must be returned. A doctor told ABC News that these doses were asked to be returned because other regions had higher priority for doses, not because of “eligibility procedures”.
However, there have been complaints about the jumping line 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 “numerous checkpoints” and “routinely remove people who do not meet the eligibility criteria” and have a “zero tolerance policy” for preferential vaccine treatment for people. ineligible.
“We stand behind our policy that no ineligible employee, member or affiliate will be intentionally offered the opportunity to cross the line,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman said their data showed that less than 1% of doses were given to people outside the current eligible groups and were inoculated with the use of additional doses at the end of the day.
The problem caused side effects among locals.
“It’s really discouraging to hear,” Andrew Levy, a current member of One Medical, told local ABC affiliate KGO. “I have elderly parents who are struggling to get the vaccine … I think it’s unfortunate when they try to cheat.”
A doctor said that the problem of people crossing the line is not unique to their company and that there are no current investigations known in this regard.