It all started when “some individuals” arrived at a vaccination site in Florida City, about 40 miles south of Miami, and told staff they were health workers, FEMA spokeswoman Marty Bahamonde told CNN on Sunday.
Staff asked them for proof of their status, but ‘they could not confirm that they were health workers,’ Bahamonde said.
“The staff therefore trusted them and took their word for it instead of pointing them away, and they gave the vaccine,” Bahamonde said. “Those people then went out and said to their friends, ‘Hey, I just went in and said that and got a free vaccine.’ And more and more people started coming in and then the message came out that people are being vaccinated who do not meet the requirements of the governor. ‘
Several groups of people told CNN that they had been waiting longer than six hours to be vaccinated, and some of them were turned down.
Brothers and sisters Miraj and Saima Haque traveled early Sunday from Boynton Beach, about 15 miles north, to get a vaccine. Their father was recently operated on and cannot be vaccinated, but Miraj and Saima continue to work.
“Even though we do our best to stay home, it’s still good to keep my dad safe. Many people in my family also have autoimmune diseases, so we’re just trying our best to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Saima Haque. told CNN. “But it’s really hard because we’m not 65, or teachers or anything like that. So we were just waiting here to see if we could get leftovers.”
Miraj Haque said he heard about the site on Twitter. Although they waited about seven hours, he or his sister did not receive a vaccine on Sunday because FEMA representatives told them and others that any remaining vaccine went to the province’s main FEMA-supported website on the Miami Dade College campus will be sent.
Kanushri Wadhwa, 29, told CNN she had an underlying health condition and could get a vaccine on Sunday. According to her, she heard about the news from the website and arrived with her group around 07:00
“We were like, let’s go on,” she said.
The accident of the weekend led to FEMA staff members meeting and telling them to make sure people are eligible.
“If they come to the center and do not have the validity, we ask them to come back. Go home and get the confirmation and come back so we can verify that they are who they say they are,” Bahamonde said. .
Another FEMA spokesman told CNN on Sunday that community vaccination centers are run by states and can be supported by federal government entities, including FEMA.
The state government also determines vaccination priorities and procedures, and FEMA does not determine who is eligible for a vaccine, the spokesman said.
CNN’s Denise Royal reports from Florida City and Amir Vera and Chuck Johnston report and write from Atlanta. CNN’s Gisela Crespo and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.