Eventbrite sites aimed at Florida seniors charged money for fake vaccination appointments

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According to reports, Eventbrite sites posing as Florida local health departments have targeted seniors in the state charging money for fake vaccination appointments, prompting local health officials to issue notices to residents Monday.

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantisRon DeSantis: Rulers are responding to the violence on the Capitol website, which crashed before the coronavirus vaccine was launched. Eventbrite sites targeting Florida seniors charged money for fake vaccination appointments MORE (R) issued an executive order on Dec. 23 that required people over the age of 65 to be among the first people in the general public to receive the vaccine, after health workers and those living in care centers. long term.

According to the Pasco County Health Department spokesman Melissa Watts, some seniors have recently arrived at county vaccination centers claiming to have an appointment, only to find out that their reservation was fraudulent, Tampa Bay Times reported.

According to reports, Eventbrite websites commissioned people to schedule appointments, prompting officials in Pasco and Pinellas counties to notify residents that there is no cost to register for a COVID-19 vaccine.

“There could still be people thinking they have dates and not. It’s really a shame, ”Watts told the Times, adding that Pasco’s department is still unsure of how many people scheduled appointments through Eventbrite websites.

Both the Pasco i Pinelles health departments tweeted Monday notifying users of fake registration pages, adding:You should NOT be charged for registering. Registration is FREE .T. “

The departments tweeted that the only way to schedule an appointment with the vaccine is through the official websites of the county health departments.

The Pinellas health department he tweeted Tuesday morning that, “anyone who has made an appointment through the fraudulent site Eventbrite does not have a valid reservation for a vaccine, “but” programmers will work with these people to get the schedule achieved. ”

The news comes when the Times reported on challenges for seniors across Florida to schedule appointments to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with overwhelming demand blocking phone lines and website servers Monday.

Due to high demand and technical issues, Pinellas County suspended online and telephone registration at 7 p.m., and the Hillsborough County Health Department expanded its call center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Tuesday to try to meet demand.

The challenges with vaccine distribution are as follows Sunshine State has recorded a total of about 1.4 million cases of COVID-19, with more than 22,000 deaths due to the virus and more than 63,000 hospitalizations.

Last week, Florida health officials announced they had detected the first case of the state of the new most infectious strain of the coronavirus first found in the UK. Colorado and California have also detected cases of the new variant.

The Hill has contacted the governor’s office and the state health department about fake vaccine appointments.

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