In San Mateo County, 70 ineligible people were vaccinated.
Healthcare provider One Medical has been removed from the vaccine launch in five California counties after ineligible patients skipped the line to get the coveted shot.
Vaccine allocations were halted in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin and Alameda counties for the San Francisco-based national health care provider following complaints that people under the age of 65 State of the state vaccination status advanced to the firing line.
A doctor confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that he had fired several members of the clinical staff for their “intentional ignorance” of eligibility requirements.
With vaccine eligibility requirements varying from state to state, loose reinforcement, and a limited number of vaccines sent to states, skipping the COVID-19 vaccine line has become a problem. national.
One Medical is a member-based primary care provider with locations nationwide and charges an annual fee of $ 199. The company offers a technology-focused medical experience with virtual video tours and a mobile app to schedule appointments.
In San Mateo County, 70 ineligible people were vaccinated at One Medical locations, according to an investigation found following a Feb. 5 complaint, officials told ABC News. The county later 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 their counties’ One Medical Centers, but all have stopped sending additional dose assignments.
San Francisco officials have not disclosed how many ineligible people received the vaccine, but said in a statement that “several doses” were given to people under the age of 65 who falsely identified themselves as “health workers in the phase. 1a “.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health said it will allow One Medical to administer second doses to previously scheduled patients, but the remaining 1,600 doses sent to the provider must be reimbursed. A doctor told ABC News that doses were being reimbursed because other regions had a higher priority for doses, not due to “eligibility enforcement procedures.”
However, there have been complaints about line breaks 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 who had connections to company leaders, NPR reported, citing leaked internal communications.
A One Medical spokesman told ABC News that they have “numerous checkpoints in place” and “routinely exclude people who do not meet the eligibility criteria” and that they have a “zero tolerance policy” for the treatment of preferential vaccines to ineligible people.
“We are behind our policy that no ineligible employee, member or affiliate company intentionally has a chance to jump the line,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman said his data show that less than 1% of the doses were administered to people outside the current eligible groups and that they were inoculated with the use of additional doses at the end of the day.
The problem has provoked a reaction among the locals.
“It’s really discouraging to listen,” Andrew Levy, a current member of One Medical, told ABC’s local affiliate, KGO. “I have elderly parents struggling to get the vaccine … I think it’s unfortunate to try to cheat.”
One doctor said the issue of people skipping the queue is not exclusive to his company and there is no current pending research on the issue.