In San Mateo County, 70 ineligible people were vaccinated.
Healthcare provider One Medical has been shut down in five counties in California from vaccination after ineligible patients jumped at the chance.
Vaccination has been halted in the San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin and Alameda provinces for the San Francisco-based national health care provider following complaints that people under the age of 65 have been vaccinated by the state , shot forward in the queue for the rare shots.
One Medical confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that they had terminated several clinical staff members due to their ‘intentional disregard’ of the admission requirements.
As vaccination requirements vary from country to country, loose reinforcement and a limited number of vaccines sent to countries, skipping the COVID-19 vaccine line has become a national problem.
One Medical is a membership-based primary care provider with locations across the country and charges an annual fee of $ 199. The company offers a technically-focused medical experience with virtual video visits and a mobile appointment scheduling app.
In San Mateo County, 70 ineligible people were vaccinated at One Medical sites, an investigation found after a Feb. 5 complaint, officials told ABC News. The province subsequently terminated its contract with One Medical and called the action ‘disappointing’.
Officials from Marin, Santa Clara and Alameda County did not say how many ineligible patients were vaccinated at One Medical Centers in their provinces, but all stopped sending out further dose allocations.
San Francisco officials did not disclose how many disabled people received the vaccine, but said in a statement that a number of doses were administered to people under 65 who were falsely identified as ‘phase 1a health workers’.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health has said it allows One Medical to pre-administer doses to patients, but the remaining 1,600 doses sent to the provider must be returned. One doctor told ABC News the doses were asked to return because other regions had a higher priority for the doses, not because of procedures to maintain fitness.
However, there have been complaints about skipping lines at One Medical locations across the country, including in the state of Washington and Los Angeles County, National Public Radio reported.
Some people who cut the line included those who connected with industry leaders, NPR reported, citing leaked internal communications.
A spokesperson for One Medical told ABC News that they ‘have numerous checkpoints in place’ and ‘regularly reject people who do not meet admission requirements’ and that they have a ‘zero tolerance policy’ for preferential vaccine treatment towards disabled people.
“We stand by our policy that no ineligible employees or business subsidiaries will deliberately have the opportunity to hit the line,” the spokesman said.
The spokesperson said that their data showed that less than 1% of the doses were administered to people outside the current groups and that they were vaccinated at the end of the day to use extra doses.
The issue has caused a stir among locals.
“It’s really discouraging to hear,” Andrew Levy, a current member of One Medical, told local ABC affiliate KGO. “I have older parents who are struggling to get the vaccine … I think it’s a shame if they try to cheat.”
According to One Medical, the issue of people crossing the line is not unique to their business, and no current known pending investigation into the matter is known.